Without evidence
THE HOME Office wants powers to ban people it suspects of being hackers from the World Wide Wibble.
Powers will be given to coppers and courts to give suspected hackers and spammers an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo).
The moves will be carried out under a proposed Serious Crime Prevention Order which aims to combat organised crime where the police do not have enough evidence. Civil courts to impose the orders on individuals, even if they had not been convicted.
The big idea is contained in a Home Office green paper called "New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime". By dealing with the matter in a civil, rather than a criminal court, the standard of proof is much lower. In fact hearsay is admissible evidence, so what a friend heard about you from another person could result in a guilty finding.
A civil court would have almost unlimited discretion to impose the order if they believe it probable that a suspect had "acted in a way which facilitated or was likely to facilitate the commissioning of serious crime".
Anyone suspected of being a cybercriminal could lose all their credit cards, bank accounts and be forbidden from carrying more than a certain amount of cash.
While few would cry out that hackers or spammers need to be protected, others are slightly worried about civil liberties, because it means that people can have their lives ruined without the police having to prove anything to a court. More
here.
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