Not so much hacking, but illegal access to an account after all permission to access it has been revoked. The same line of thinking as if somebody got arrested for using their old keys to enter a house that they're no longer renting. Just because they have a key to the door, doesnt mean that they are legally allowed access to a home whihc has another family on the lease.
The same line of thought for if a banned player returned to the server with a new cd key I suppose. This case might actually make precidence for prosecution of such people. And now with second life sparking the interest in virtual property rights, people might even be able to start sueing one another irl over deals in the tradehalls... *shudders* scary stuff when you think about it.
Where's the line in all of this slippery slope? Can you just put a banner on your website saying "keep out" next to a link and press charges on everybody who clicks on it? With identity theft getting easier and more prevalent, it would be easy to frame somebody for such charge. Just alter a server log here and there, mask an IP and boom, a smart hacker could ruin somebody with court costs. After this latest net hazing/suicide case of the teenage girl who killed herself over a fake online boyfriend, internet trolling may too become a prosecutable crime. Decent and thoughtful initiatives will invariably degenerate into a slippery slope of knee-jerk regulations, and Free speach will be further obliterated and thought control will thrive. Any negative comments about the government and its politicians will become emminent domain for SWAT teams to raid your house.
And it all started with eBay, the first place where exchange rates were determined between the dollar and the digital goldpiece, and real estate brokers started selling digital houses. Makes one want to turn Amish, eh? It's all going Shadowrun.
