Blastoise24 :
The question is the title. Also, I live in North California. Example, you go on a website that streams movies for free, but you don't watch any, or do anything illegal on the website.
Also, I would prefer if it would be a sure, solid "yes" or "no"
- Thank you!!!
It's not a simple yes or no answer.
Content on the internet can facilitate a wide variety of offences including copyright infringement, purchase and distribution of illegal narcotics, purchase and acquisition of state secrets, purchase and acquisition of identities (identity theft), purchase and acquisition of stolen goods, child pornography, etc... Some of these offences may be prosecuted civilly, criminally, or both.
In some cases, the act of merely attempting to commit some of the above listed offences is itself illegal. For example, in some jurisdictions simply attempting to acquire pornography involving minors is illegal and may be prosecuted whether or not the defendant succeeds in doing so. These cases are almost always criminal in nature and authorities must satisfy the criminal burden of proof which includes
mens rea, or criminal intent.
Demonstrating
mens rea can be incredibly difficult given the unreliable nature of content on the internet. Accidentally stumbling across a website dealing in some highly illegal content won't result in a prosecution any more than stumbling across a crackhouse would but actively searching one out is a different story.
On the other hand, civil cases such as copyright infringement require the plaintiff to actually demonstrate that the defendant did something wrong and that wrong caused damage or harm to the plaintiff. No damage or harm usually means no case; even a claim of statutory damages still require the plaintiff to present evidence of wrongdoing. Ergo, simply visiting a torrent tracker and trying to find the latest episode of a TV show is not illegal; actual copyright infringement through acquiring it would be.
Attempted copyright infringement is no more damaging than attempted trespass (note that trespassing can also be a criminal offence) so from a civil perspective it's basically a no-go. However, copyright infringement can rise to criminal levels if certain elements are met, at which point
attempted criminal copyright infringement could be a thing.
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