Internet Privacy Act 1995 (431.322.12) is a Hoax!

“Code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995” is cited at the main page or in the disclaimer portion of many Web sites which are running criminal enterprises and offering illegal items.

The Internet Privacy Act does not exist!

Additionally, former U, S. President William Jefferson Clinton never signed into law any legislation which in any manner restricts anyone’s access to Web sites selling illegal items. No similar law exists anywhere in the world. There is no law which in any way prohibits or restricts instituting criminal charges or litigation against such sites based upon a site’s posting of this imaginary act.. Regardless of a posting of this fictitious act, any information obtained from these sites may be used by law enforcement and trademark holders for prosecution and litigation purposes.

Every Web site we have visited which displays this spurious statement has been conducting criminal activities, usually offering illegal counterfeit products or illegal drugs. In most cases, persons buying such illegal replicas in quantity (or buying illegal drugs) from these sites can be criminally prosecuted and sued for damages.

A typical example of a statement appearing on these sites erroneously claiming protection from this fictitious act is as follows:

If you are affiliated with any government, police, anti-piracy group or other related group or working for Adidas, Manolo Blahnik, Converse, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry, Hermes, Prada, Air Jordan, Nike, Timberland, Gucci, Cartier, Oakley either directly or indirectly, or any other related group, or were formally a worker, you CANNOT enter these web pages, links, nor access any of its files and you cannot view any of the HTML files. If in fact you are affiliated or were affiliated with the above said companies, by entering this site you are not agreeing to these terms and you are violating code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995 and that means that you CANNOT threaten our ISP(s) or any person(s) or company storing these files, and cannot prosecute any person(s) affiliated with this website.

Statements such as the one above provide absolutely no legal protection for the criminals operating the Web site, the ISP or the Web site customers. It should be obvious to even the most naïve surfers that statements of this ilk clearly indicate that goods being offered at these sites are illegal and that by purchasing such items the surfers may be engaging in criminal activity and may, themselves, be tracked and prosecuted.

In addition to the fictitious Internet Privacy Act post, many of these sites also include disclosures such as the following:

This site is in no way affiliated with, representing, associated or sponsored by Adidas, Air Jordan, Burberry, Chanel, Converse, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Manolo Blahnik, Nike, Prada, Timberland, Oakley or any other above mentioned name brands or their products. We do not represent our replica products to be original nor do we represent that they are exact copies and they are being sold only for novelty or educational purposes, therefore, they do not violate any copyright laws.

This, too, is meaningless and offers neither the seller nor the buyer any legal protection whatsoever. Disregarding the fact that these criminals often use the word copyright–rather than trademark–it is irrelevant whether or not illegal replicas are allegedly being sold for novelty or educational purposes. The crime is being perpetrated against the manufacturer who holds the trademark, not the consumer, and it makes no difference that counterfeit products are not being represented as originals. This violates federal and state statutes.

There are many perfectly legitimate Web sites which sell items that look like name brand products–but do not bear the names or logos of the name brand items they imitate. These are not illegal counterfeits. For instance, a pair of sunglasses may be similar in style to a pair of Oakleys, but as long as they do not bear the trademarked Oakley name or elongated “O” logo they are perfectly legal. However, Web sites that offer these legal lookalikes normally do not post the phony Internet Privacy Act.

Since it has been shown that profits from the sale of counterfeit products often funds terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Al Quada, law enforcement has become more aggressive in going after those dealing in illegal replicas–and in some cases the consumers who are inadvertently supporting terrorism. An “Internet Privacy Act” notice posted on a Web site should act as a red flag to surfers and we advise consumers to avoid having any dealings with these criminals.

Hahahahahahahahah! i think all you people who have that Disclaimer on your site need to your move it some your self sometime from embressment 😆 😆 😉