[Asterisk-biz] Criminal Liability (I know there are attorneys on this list)

[Greg Broiles]

> Which is why I posted this question to the list:  To avoid criminal
> liability, must we determine if each and every customer is legit?  For
> example, if some someone opens an account at the web page, must we then
> investigate him and determine that he's not using the service for
> criminal activities (such as book making)?

There are no perfect guarantees. It's not possible for you to
determine if every customer is "legit" - because even someone who
appears to be doing one thing may switch and do something entirely
different a few weeks later.

However, the fact that absolute perfection is elusive doesn't mean
that it's a good idea to ignore obvious danger signs, or ignore facts
that you learn (or would learn, apart from deciding to ignore them.)

Also, there are some "hot button" issues where it's really tough to
get due process, regardless of idealistic notions about the
Constitution - three of those issues being terrorism, drugs, and sex
with children. As a matter of common sense - not a matter of law - if
you can avoid customers in those industries, your life will be easier.

It is tempting - but ultimately hopeless - to try to boil legal issues
down to black-and-white rules, like "it is OK to supply the child sex
industry" or "it is not OK to supply the child sex industry".

My hunch is that there are probably bigger problems to worry about -
like whether or not customers will pay their bills, or if you will get
sued because dialing 911 doesn't work, or because some government
somewhere decided that you should have cooperated with their tax
system and charged regulatory fees on your bills to your customers, or
whether or not some big industry player decides to undercut your rates
for a few years until they drive all of the little guys out of
business.

A big criminal prosecution is like being hit by lightning - it doesn't
happen to very many people, and it's probably not a big risk in your
life, but that doesn't mean you should stand in the middle of a golf
course waving a metal club around during a thunderstorm, either.

-- 
Greg Broiles, JD, EA
gbroiles at gmail.com (Lists only. Not for confidential communications.)
Law Office of Gregory A. Broiles
San Jose, CA