Legal Question in Technology Law in Missouri
Malicious Attacks on IRC Users
I own a company which hosts chat rooms on a server which is owned by a major television network. There is a group of people who we call 'trolls' and they frequently come onto the server and flood everyone off. They use different sorts of 'floods' and attacks to keep people from chatting on the server. They have told us that in order for them to stop, we must give them authority on the server. They say that if we give them some control on the server, they will stop with their attacks.
My question is not about whether we have a case regarding the attacks they are doing. We are asking if we have a case regarding the fact that they are keeping people from using the server. The other thing we were wondering about is if they might be committing extortion.
While my company might not follow up with legal action, if we can give a compelling argument to this television network, they may take the legal action. Might there be a valid case here? The trolls who are doing this are located in both Montana and Pennsylvania.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Malicious Attacks on IRC Users
You may have two kinds of legal cases: intentional inteference with business contractual relationships [keeping customers off your website] which is civil, and extortion [attempting to gain something of value from you by inappropriate application of force] which is criminal. Recommend you consult the Attorney General for further advice.
Re: Malicious Attacks on IRC Users
I agree with Mr. Aspinwall's advice. I would add that you might have additional causes of action under federal law.
Best regards,
Todd D. Epp, Esq.
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