Activity tagged "law"

Listened to:
"Abolishing Section 230 Would Abolish Wikipedia" (Podcast).
Mike Masnick and Rebecca MacKinnon in Techdirt. Published .
Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing all about Section 230, in which they didn’t even attempt to find a witness pointing out its benefits. Among the many organizations that could have provided that vital perspective is the Wikimedia Foundation (as seen in three excellent posts on Medium), and this week we’re joined by Rebecca MacKinnon, Wikimedia’s VP of Global Advocacy and long-time open internet defender, to talk about why the hearing was bad and Section 230 is very, very important.

Sam Bankman-Fried has filed his notice of appeal. This comes shortly after a request that he remain at MDC Brooklyn until his appeal has been fully briefed, to allow him better access to his counsel than he would have if moved to a federal penitentiary closer to his family in California.

Criminal Notice of Appeal - Form A NOTICE OF APPEAL United States District Court Southern District of New York DATE FILED: 4/11/2024 United States Docket No. 1:22-cr-00673-LAK Lewis A. Kaplan (District Court Judge) Samuel Bankman-Fried Notice is hereby given that Samuel Bankman-Fried appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the judgment entered in this action on April 1, 2024 This appeal concerns: Conviction & Sentence Defendant found guilty by trial Offense occurred after November 1, 1987? Yes Date of sentence: March 28, 2024 Bail/Jail Disposition: Committed Appellant is represented by counsel? Yes If yes, provide the following information: Defendant's Counsel: Alexandra A.E. Shapiro Shapiro Arato Bach LLP Counsel's Address: 1140 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10036 Counsel's Phone: (212) 257-4881 Assistant U.S. Attorney: Nicolas Roos AUSA's Address: United States Attorney's Office, SDNY One Saint Andrew's Plaza, New York, New York 10007 AUSA's Phone: (212) 637-2421
Re: United States v. Samuel Bankman-Fried, 1:22 CR 673 (LAK) Dear Judge Kaplan: VIA ECF Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan United States District Judge Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse 500 Pearl Street New York, NY 10007 Defendant Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced on March 28, 2024, primarily to 25 years imprisonment, to be served, if possible, near his family’s home in California. (ECF 424). Mr. Bankman-Fried respectfully requests, pursuant to Rule 38(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, that the Court supplement its recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) by issuing the attached proposed order recommending that the BOP allow him to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to facilitate access to his appellate counsel pending the filing of the briefs in his anticipated appeal. Rule 38(b)(2) provides that “[i]f the defendant is not released pending appeal, the court may recommend to the Attorney General that the defendant be confined near the place of the trial or appeal for a period reasonably necessary to permit the defendant to assist in preparing the appeal.” Fed. R. Cr. Proc. 38(b)(2). See e.g., United States v. Carl, No. 07-CR-29-P-S, 2008 WL 4615556 (D. Me. Oct. 16, 2008) (issuing similar order). The government informs us that they take no position on this request. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Marc L. Mukasey

wow. one of the new victim impact statements filed tonight is from someone who lost almost six figures to a hack in 2021, had assets stuck on voyager after its july 2022 collapse, and then lost assets to FTX

he went from working in the industry to vocally advocating against it

Hello, As an FTX creditor, incoming prospective MBA candidate at a top US program, University of Florida graduate, immigrant, and new US citizen, I wish to convey the profound and harrowing impact of the FTX fallout on my mental health, career, and view of the cryptocurrency industry. Having served as a crypto industry analyst across various sell-side research firms for two years, my deep understanding of this space only compounds my disillusionment following not just the collapse of FTX, but also my status as a Voyager creditor and victim of a nearly sixfigure hack in stablecoins a year prior—incidents unconnected but emblematic of the pervasive recklessness in the industry. These events precipitated severe mental health challenges, incurring over $12,000 in related expenses, tens of thousands more in lost income, and derailed my educational and professional advancement by two years. My shift from an ex-industry advocate to a vocal critic is a testament to the industry’s systemic failings and moral bankruptcy. My hope, post-graduate school, is to champion ethical business leadership—a stark contrast to what I've witnessed firsthand. I've since undertaken grassroots efforts, written to 3 Congressional committees urging for regulation, and applied for industry grants for education efforts to prevent more victims of fraud in crypto. In addition to personal setbacks, I am compelled to underscore the broader societal risks posed by the unchecked behaviors of the industry. Echoed by a recent European Central Bank report, the industry’s trajectory now threatens immense societal collateral damage including civil unrest. The human toll of these crimes, including suicides among FTX victims, signals a crisis that demands immediate, substantive action given the inevitability of larger FTX, a larger Luna collapse, and far worse next time. Disturbingly, entities including FTX blatantly positioned themselves as legitimate replacements to the regulated banking system. They received notices from the FDIC for egregiously flouting decades of financial regulation. 94% of all crypto users are financially vulnerable Gen Z and millennial retail, middle class users like myself - this is a generational regulatory failure and crisis. Despite this, US crypto companies are now running new ads to children claiming crypto assets are legitimate alternatives to the banking system, urging them to invest in crypto in lieu of going to university, or building a career or any real value for society. Recall that SFB described DeFi and the industry at large as a ponzi scheme in a Bloomberg interview. It's hard to imagine a more pernicious message for society's next generation - it would be one thing if any of this "tech" worked without catastrophic risks, but it's so deeply flawed for mass market use that if even 10% of Americans adopted it for use beyond speculation, it would lead
to financial system instability from hacks and user error alone. In fact, top PhDs and entire teams with cybersecurity pros get hacked for millions of dollars almost every single day. Yet, this deeply flawed, experimental tech is being aggressively marketed to unsuspecting users across exchanges similar to FTX, grossly underplaying the technical pitfalls and pervasive fraud in the industry. I urge the court to seriously consider what happens when millions of unsophisticated new entrants to crypto - including the elderly and young children - get hacked for and or lose billions of dollars, or their funds are gambled by the next SBF, after being marketed these products as "better" than the banking system. This may soon be the reality within 12-36 months. This is precisely what happened with FTX and other exchanges whose marketing were slogans akin to "Unbank Yourself" and "Banks are not your friends," and continues to happen with hacks every single day. When has society allowed private issuers of currency and outright ponzi schemes to prey on the masses in the name of unregulated financial "innovation"? It is time to end the crypto chicanery before the societal price truly becomes too big to bear. A serious discussion of reparative justice just as in any prior large scale financial fraud is in order - from crypto criminals like SBF who have used stolen customer funds for their own gain, to the industry PR machine supporting crypto predators. These incidents severely undermine trust in our institutions and entire financial system. Regards,

Sam Bankman-Fried has filed five more letters of support, and from reading them it seems that somehow Mukasey Young is worried they hadn't emphasized enough that Bankman-Fried is vegan

Doing good for the world: Sam was consistently vegan in the time I lived with him, because he wanted to reduce farm animals' suffering. He was happy to discuss this (but not pushy, unlike stereotypical vegans), and by 2014 had converted about half of ET to vegetarianism or veganism. I did not become vegetarian or vegan, but I respected his efforts. Sam also took action on causes other than reducing animal suffering: he ran an event in which he gave MIT students $1 to donate to one of three charities (the Against Malaria Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and a third I don't remember) with descriptions of what they could accomplish with how much money, hoping to get MIT students to think about effectively doing good for the world.
Sam felt deeply for every living being, farm animals included -- so much so that he adhered to a vegan diet and convinced several others in our living group to become vegan, too. He took every actionable step he could to reduce suffering. Sam has been portrayed as being motivated by greed. This is completely inconsistent with the Sam I knew. He never showed any interest in material possessions or personal wealth; he was far more interested in promoting animal welfare. I believe that if Sam is given a lenient sentence, he will be an asset to society. If the fact that I still limit my meat consumption on ethical grounds is any indication, Sam will continue inspiring others to be a little bit kinder and gentler.

Another two are from parents of autistic children, and one of them suggests that perhaps "he did not fully understand the scope of what was going on and did not have malicious intent".

Dear Judge Kaplan, As the sentencing of Sam Bankman-Fried approaches I am writing to you as a mother of a 34-year-old son who is on the Autism spectrum (known for purposes of this letter as Aspergers) as is Sam, which I understand you are aware of. I have no opinion as to his guilt or innocence under the law, but do want to share with you my experiences with my son that hopefully might give you some pause to reflect on Sam’s behavior and mental state leading up to and during the trial. I was not familiar with Sam and his story until I watched a 60 Minutes interview with Michael Lewis, the author of his biography, in Oct, 2023. As he described Sam I saw my son and kept wondering why Aspergers never came up in the segment, because those of us knowledgeable about it, could see his behavior, his mannerisms ... and his brilliance... as huge indicators of him being on the spectrum. I did not follow the trial closely but did look for some kind of public acknowledgement of his condition. However, with his conviction and the way he was being described at trial, I felt compelled to reach out to his lawyer to ask if Sam had been diagnosed. I never heard back but one of my other sons found Joe Bankman’s email and I sent a note to him in November asking him the same question because I felt so strongly that there but for the grace of God goes my son. I told him that his son sounds very much like my own – his mannerisms, thinks in numbers (my son is discovering Pi patterns at the moment), brilliant, very good at making money (has his own business), same dress style, or lack thereof, obsessive, socially awkward... I could go on. In fact, it freaked me out. I bring this forward because my son has had a couple of brushes with the law - all very stupid and innocent in that either his actions were misinterpreted or he was clueless and didn't understand what was going on. This is not unusual for those with Aspergers. Fortunately, all were rectified but all left a traumatic mark on him, too. Mr. Bankman did respond recently to my email and let me know that Sam had been diagnosed as on the Autism spectrum and that you and the Prosecutor were made aware as well. I have no idea how familiar you are with Aspergers, particularly those
who are out working and supporting themselves, but I can speak from experience that the mind of those on the spectrum works differently. Though I have never met Sam, I firmly believe that while he may be an MIT grad - he did not fully understand the scope of what was going on and did not have malicious intent. Truthful to a fault, these wonderful people are the outliers of our world (not a disability) who make all the great discoveries (Einstein) but most have difficulty with executive functioning, especially when it gets chaotic. They tend to shut down then and I can only imagine how chaotic Sam’s world was both when running a business with what sounds like little controls in place, and during the trial. I know his altruistic pursuits could only have been heartfelt because my son believes he has found the cure for cancer through his work with numbers and wants to save the world. I am just thankful that his brushes with the law did not involve him having to take the stand because that would have been a disaster. He would have talked and talked and driven everyone crazy while thinking he is explaining it all so well. My husband and I did not know our son was on the spectrum untill he was around 31, about three years ago, and had a traumatic event that caused him what is called "Autism burnout." We always knew he was smart, quirky, odd, became obsessive about an area of interest, and socially awkward but did not realize he was on the spectrum until then. Thank you for your consideration of what I have said as you ponder this young man’s future. There is every reason to believe he could contribute so much more to society if given the chance... and understanding. Sincerely