5 INSANE Laws You DIDN'T Know You Were Breaking

We've all done it - break the law.
It's not like we're budding terrorists or aspiring criminals, it's just so hard not
to beat that red light when you're really in a hurry, right?
But you would be surprised to know that there are actually laws that we have been consistently
breaking, albeit unintentionally, for most of our lives.
You might think that most of these are too trivial to be real. But when you're already
facing jail time and a huge amount of fine, you might start singing a different tune.
So sit back, relax, and marvel at the many laws you break, probably every single day.
5. On the fifth spot, Writing Disturbing Material
Writing for public nowadays is so easy - what with Wordpress, Blogspot, MySpace, Facebook
and all the other social media sites that allow you to post lengthy stories for public
consumption. Censorship has become tougher and you have become your own editor.
But to anyone writing a conspiracy theory about aliens and the U-S government, or a
biochemical weapon hidden in the heart of the United States, or vampires living among
us - you might want to hold out on releasing your story.
In some states, regulations against disorderly conduct range from pulling the fire alarm,
prank calls to 911 AND writing disturbing material. If your material gets too believable
and too disturbing, it may cost you 30 days of jail time and a fine of up to $1,500.
It doesn't matter too if you plan to release it or not. If someone accidentally reads it
and thought it right to report you to authorities, then you're in trouble.
In 2007, a straight-A Chicago high school student was charged for disorderly conduct
after writing a creative essay that the teacher found too troubling. For the supposedly FREE
writing exercise, the teacher reportedly asked the class to write whatever comes to their
minds, non-stop, for a certain period of time. One instruction even indicated that "if your
free writing is neat and coherent, you probably haven't loosened up enough."
So then 18-year-old student Allen Lee decided to be as loose as he can, wrote the word 'stab'
four times and promptly landed himself in prison.
4. On top four, Connecting to Public Wi-fi.
The United States Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act strictly prohibits the use of another
person's wi-fi connection without their consent, also called "piggybacking" or "mooching."
According to this 1986 law, access to computer systems, including wireless routers, without
permission, is considered a felony.
Basically, piggybacking happens when we use our neighbor's open wi-fi, or when we stand
near a wi-fi hotspot cafe to check something on the Internet, even for just a little while.
I say "we" because I know we've all done it more than a dozen times, and will probably
keep on doing it.
It could have been unintentional too. Walking around with smart phones and tablets, there's
a great chance our gadgets would automatically connect to an unsecured network without being
prompted to. Just don't be surprised when a police officer suddenly jumps on you with
the words, "You have the right to remain silent."
Just because a wi-fi network is unprotected, doesn't mean it is safe to use. Violation
of this law could land you at least two years in prison and up to 10 grand in fines.
One particular case was that of a man in Michigan, whose regular parking outside a cafe with
an open laptop, attracted the attention of a police officer. He was charged for accessing
a computer network without authorization, and was fined $400.
An additional note, it might be also illegal for you to share your wi-fi network with other
people, but that's depending on your service provider. Most companies strictly prohibit
the shared usage of wi-fi for non-paying users.
Your provider has the capacity to identify inordinately high wi-fi usage. And if they
discover it's because your sharing your connection with unsubscribed users, then that’s a possible
against you too.
3. On number three is Using Fake Names on the Internet.
Do you know that using fake names to register anywhere on the Internet is considered hacking?
That's according to the same U.S. Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act mentioned earlier.
The law says using a fake name is similar to accessing a network without authorization
from the owner. Before you start saying this doesn't make sense, note that violation of
this law could mean five to 20 years in prison.
There was also this one time a woman in Florida used MySpace under a different name to bully
a teenager -- until she committed suicide.
Cyberbullying along with violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act would have resulted
in felony. But because cyber-bullying laws were not yet fully implemented in 2009, and
because she claimed she didn't know using fake names on the Internet was illegal, she
was able to get away with a misdemeanor charge.
Cases like this make the law valid, doesn't it?
But what about all the times we just wanted to feel safe in the World Wide Web? When we
just want to view a blog's full content without having to share who we are? It's not like
we're off to rob anyone whenever we use the name John Doe.
I'm telling you now that that won't be a good argument in court. They would probably let
you go with a misdemeanor too if you insist you didn't know that such a law exists. But
now that you've seen this video, you might want to re-think that strategy. Investigators
are really good at finding out when you're lying. Remember that Lie Detector tutorial
we gave last time?
So as much as you hate using your real name to register on a sketchy website, remember
this law and its consequences the next time you go online.
2. Top two - illegal possession of... a permanent marker.
Yes, your ears are not playing a joke on you. Possession of a permanent marker is strictly
prohibited in most parts of the United States. Anti-graffiti laws state it is illegal to
possess broad tipped markers and aerosol cans, as they can be used for vandalism. In California,
it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy a permanent marker.
Back in 2010, a 13-year-old boy was brought into custody for using a permanent marker
in a school in Oklahoma. His teacher reported him to the police after his writing in a piece
of paper bled onto the desk. The boy was subsequently brought to a juvenile detention facility.
So parents, careful what you pack on your children's bag whenever they get out of the
house. Your desire for them to be more creative might end up with them not wanting anything
to do with art at all.
1. And on Number 1, Singing Happy Birthday to You in public.
Yes, you heard that right. Singing the most recognized song in the English language, in
public, is illegal. It can't be sung on TV, movies, and other public performances without
paying a hefty sum.
Even restaurants have come to devise strategies in able to play Happy Birthday in their establishments,
like singing only the first and last part of the song or changing the lyrics altogether.
Why?
In 1988, Warner/Chappel Music bought the company owning the copyright to Happy Birthday for
$25 million, with the song itself valued at $5 million. Based on United States laws, Warner/Chappel
Music will own the song until 2030.
A little history -- "Happy Birthday to You," complete with melody and lyrics, first appeared
on print in 1912. The song's melody was based on "Good Morning to You All," which was widely
attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill. In 1893, Patty, then a kindergarten
principal wanted to teach her students a song that was easy to learn, and asked her sister
Mildred, a pianist and composer, for help.
Years later, the song evolved to Happy Birthday to You, which retained the original's catchy
tune and similarly easy lyrics. And in 1935, the first copyright for the song was registered
by the Summy Company, crediting Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R. R. Forman as the authors.
Professor Robert Bruneis of the George Washington University argues that the there is no way
to identify with complete accuracy who really composed the song, and insists, among with
hundreds of others, that the song should be in public domain.
He adds that singing the song in public would cost you something in between $5,000 to $30,000,
and that Warner/Chapel has already earned a total of over $50 million from the song's
rights since 1988.
In Europe, the song's copyright has already expired last January 1, 2017. So if you really
need to sing the song in public and don't want to pay any royalties, you might want
to fly to Europe first.
There you have it, the top 5 rules that now you know
you have been breaking. Not that this video would stop you from ever doing any of them
again. As the saying goes, "rules are meant to be broken." Just make sure you don't get
caught.

5 INSANE Laws You DIDN'T Know You Were Breaking

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