Mom Accused of Hacking Son’s Facebook Charged with Harassment
An Arkansas mother who allegedly hacked into her 16-year-old son’s Facebook account, changed his password, and posted comments in his name has been charged with harassment.
After Denise New read on Facebook how her son had driven 95 mph after getting upset with a girl, she had enough. One day when her son forgot to log out from his Facebook account, she sat down at the computer, wrote several posts in his name and then changed the password so he would not be able to access his account.
According to The Associated Press, New said she did just what any parent would do if they were concerned about their child’s behavior. Her son, however, did not agree. In his handwritten complaint to prosecutors, he asked that his mother have no contact with him and wrote, “Denise first hacked my Facebook and changed my password. She also changed the password to my email so I could not change it. She posted things that involve slander and personal facts about my life.”
While New acknowledged changing the passwords to keep her son from getting access to his Facebook page, she denied hacking into the account because “He left it logged in on my computer. It’s not like I stole his laptop.”
If the mom is providing the access to the internet, then she has every right to restrict or deny that access. Unless her son wants to get a job and his own ISP account, he’s got no say in what he can and cannot do online. He is on her internet connection. She has dominion.
This country will not fall because of the deficit or Obama-care. It will fall because of the destruction of familites caused by officials interfering in matters where they don’t belong. The prosecutor should have denied the complaint and sent the boy home after a good talking to. But no, being a good liberal, he apparently felt that this boy had a God given right to diss the woman who gave him life and who has sacrificed many things while raising him so that he could have things he wanted (the computer). He is obviously a spoiled brat who doesn’t have enough respect to call her Mom.
they are all unintelligent
Hebrews 13:17 says “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Ephesians 6:1-3 says “CHILDREN, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be will with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” When the mom stands before God at the judgment seat of Christ, she will give an account to God for her actions and how she raised her son and what she allowed to take place in her house. When she stands before God, she will be happy that she changed the account, because she loves her son, and she wants to be the right kind of mom.
God and Christianity have nothing to do with this case. The way I see it, bible thumping doesn’t make any sense for this situation because it never took place in a “Christian” high school, or Jesus camp.
I don’t think any of you would like it if someone stole your personal information, and started using your identity to get new credit cards and all that. This country has laws for a reason, and what that boy’s mother did should come with consequences. Shame on you Jim Oliver for calling the boy a spoiled brat… because you are a D***** BAG for saying that. You don’t know the boy’s family personally… because you are a complete stranger. Nothing that the boy does at home is any of your concern, and that goes for all of you religious nuts. Just mind your own business and let this country’s legal system handle things.
That’s what happens to parents who spare the ROD!! They get called by their first names and get the police called on them, by a soon to be product of the penial system child!!
Jim Oliver, and I are complete strangers to the teenager and Roger Dean also is. The mom did not steal his personal information to get credit cards by using his identity. She did it to protect her son. She did not want him with the wrong crowd that is why she made the changes to the account. She loves him, and she wants what is best for him. Unfortunately, God has everything to do with this situation, because He is going to have the final Word and judgment when the boy stands before Him. May God have mercy on his soul when he stands before Him for his actions on the internet and for suing his mom. He will regret his actions on that day.
Rob, your correct that the parent pays for the internet and therefor has the right to restrict the child from the internet. However the case is not about restricting the child, it’s the fact that the parent illegally impersonated the son by accessing data that belonged to him and Facebook, than chose to interact with the data which was stored on Facebook servers (not her computer). Already she violated the Facebook Terms of Use policy that governs the website as well as interceded in private data that did not belong to her. The connection that was used to access Facebook is irrelevant.
If she really wanted to solve the problem she could have just as easily kicked the kid off the computer indefinitely. Choosing to impersonate him and than locking him out of data that he OWNED via the legal agreement created between him and Facebook upon registration is, believe it or not, illegal.
Anyways, I know the whole thing is pretty shady, but I kinda understand how the 16 yr/o feels. I’m 18 and I’ve been aware that my mom has snuck onto my facebook account while I was out of town to spy on friends of mine, and access private messages sent between me and other friends. She’s also interacted with my posts by deleting or modifying things I’ve written. While I’ve paid for and fully own the computer, I understand that she owns the internet connection. But just because someone owns a gun doesn’t mean you can shoot a person, likewise because you own an internet connection does not mean you can impersonate someone and access/modify private data.
I originally ignored the problem because it wasn’t a big deal. After several she continued to access my account I asked her not to use my computer without my permission. I understand that I live in her house so I’ve tried to be respectful, but what hurts is that she goes behind my back to access my private messages. I have since that point asked her several times to not access my account, each time she pretends to not know what I’m talking about.
As of this afternoon though I’m completely ticked, and investigating what legal right she has (if any) to continually access my data. She found a message that was meant to be between me and a friend, which could have very big legal implications for this friend who disclosed information to me with the expectation of privacy. While the communication has very little to do with me, and I couldn’t get in any trouble, the fact that my mother took this information and is considering to use it to get my friend in more legal troubles absolutely set me off. At this point any law that stops her from accessing my data, is not only protecting my privacy, but others privacy also.
Anyways, thats the short and mild version of my story. I found this blog post while doing a Google search on the legal ramifications her tampering with my data may have on a) her, and b) my very close friend. Obviously I would never go as far as to sue her (she would just kick me off of her internet connection anyways) but at some point enough is enough. I would like to be able to show her that what she’s done is not only unethical, but it could have legal ramifications. I don’t think she can comprehend that by violating my privacy, she’s also violated the privacy of anyone who has interacted with me online in a private manner.
Love makes the world go around
Kudos to you Andrew… very wise for an 18-year-old. Regardless if you live with your mom or not, you are 18 and an adult and have a right to your privacy. Your mother’s actions are uncalled for. If it comes down to it, take her to court. Why be respectful of her if she’s not being respectful of you – now an adult?
Answer me this readers: If a custodial parent (mother) infringes on her 17-year-olds privacy by hacking their facebook account solely because she does not want her 17-year-old to be friends with or talk to the non-custodial parent’s wife, by deleting the non-custodial parent’s wife as a friend without her child’s knowledge… how illegal is that? Against the policies of facebook? The 17-year-old graduates in January, turns 18 in March, has a job that pays for her car, car insurance AND smart phone (so the internet does not need to be accessed through the mother’s home connection) plus she’s also engaged, an in my eyes – way more of an adult then her mother.
I – the wife of the non-custodial parent – speaks regularly with the 17-year-old on facebook, responding to her posts & giving her advice on growing up – and her mom just does not wish for her to speak with me at all, so she snoops & as of yesterday deleted me as a friend from her daughters facebook account. We’re currently in court for child support modification with the custodial parent who has managed every single court date to bring in mocked-up printouts of the non-custodial parent’s facebook page to try to implicate him in some way shape or form (to no avail – the judge rolls his eyes)… and now the custodial parent is pushing things too far with the latest action. The custodial parent does not even have a facebook account of her own, so it is very obvious she has hacked the child’s account.
Regardless if the child lives at home still – they are still entitled to their privacy. The court system acknowledges teenagers as having their own mind and own say – so I say privacy infringement by the parent is indeed is punishable.
Did the kid get a speeding ticket for driving 95 mph?