This module is a resource for lecturers

Exercises

This section contains material that is meant to support lecturers and provide ideas for interactive discussions and case-based analysis of the topic under consideration.

Exercise # 1 - Case Study: Online Shaming and Human Rights

In 2005, a woman's image went viral online with the tagline "Dog Poop Girl" as a shaming tactic for failing to pick up her dog's excrement on a subway (McCreary, 2008; Walker 2013).

Please review the following:

• Henig, Samantha. (2005). The tale of Dog Poop Girl is not so funny after all. Columbia Journalism Review.
• McCreary, Lew. (2008). What was privacy? Harvard Business Review, October 2008.
• Walker, Duncan. (2013). Eight radical solutions to the problem of dog mess. BBC News, June 14, 2013.

[Note: Chapter 9, Maras, Marie-Helen. (2016). Cybercriminology. Oxford University Press, for information and cases of online shaming].

Discussion Questions

• What rights does this practice conflict with?
• Is shaming a proportionate hardship to the act committed?

Exercise # 2 - Case Study: The Absence of Cybercrime Laws

In 2000, the infamous LOVE BUG virus was distributed via email with the subject title "ILOVEYOU" by clicking on an attachment in the email (LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT). Once the user clicked on the attachment, malware was downloaded onto the user's system and the virus spread by sending itself to the email addresses listed in the compromised user's email address book. The creator and distributor of the LOVE BUG virus, Onel de Guzman, resided in the Philippines, which, at the time, did not have a law criminalizing this act (Maras, 2014).

Discussion Questions

• What are the implications of the absence of national cybercrime laws?
• Are there any other countries where this might occur today?

Exercise # 3 - Case Study: Freedom of Expression and Cybercrime Law

In August 2017, a Thai student activist was jailed for two and a half years for posting a BBC article deemed offensive to Thailand's King on Facebook. He posted a BBC Thai language profile of the king on social media two days after inauguration of the new king. The article was shared by more than 2,000 people. He was also charged with violating a computer crime law. Lese-majeste, the crime of offending of the royal family, is a severe crime according to Thai laws.

Please review the following:

• Thai activist jailed for two and a half years for posting BBC article.
• Thai Criminal Code. Section 112.
• Press briefing note on Thailand. United Nations High Commissioner's for Human Rights Office.

Discussion Questions

• What human rights does Section 112 of Thailand Criminal Code conflict with?
• Are the existing restrictions on the human rights in compliance with the pursuit of a legitimate aim, in accordance with existing law, and necessary and proportionate to the threat to the act committed?

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