I am currently in England. Is it illegal to shut down servers/sites that host illegal sale of products on both the lite web and the deep/dark web? Or is it still a crime to hack these sites?
If you do it (supposing you are not a UK government employee), it's illegal and potential "terrorism" under the The Terrorism Act 2000
Under the Terrorism Act not all hacking will be considered to be terrorism. Accordingly the use or threat of an action designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system will be a terrorist action only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
- It is designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public or a section of the public
- It is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause
Illegal sale of product websites are probably outside of the terrorism act 2000, but hacking is still illegal for UK citizens.
If the UK government does it, its legal (2015): "The UK government has quietly passed new legislation that exempts GCHQ, police, and other intelligence officers from prosecution for hacking into computers ".
So, if someone were to know of a member of the police or a law enforcement team. It would be legal. But for me to take down a site, even if its contents are illegal, is a crime? So I should report a site to the corresponding team/group to take it down instead?
That means: it is illegal for me to prevent illegal activities? It is also illegal for me to prevent people from being scammed? As I will be a suspected terrorist? And face the multi-decade sentence from this? That doesn't really seem a good idea!
No, you have to be a member of the police of law enforcement team. The UK has the Computer Misuse Act. It has these rules:
- unauthorised access to computer material, punishable by 12 months' imprisonment (or 6 months in Scotland) and/or a fine "not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale
- unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences, punishable by 12 months/maximum fine (or 6 months in Scotland) on summary conviction and/or 5 years/fine on indictment;
- unauthorised modification of computer material, punishable by 12 months/maximum fine (or 6 months in Scotland) on summary conviction and/or 10 years/fine on indictment;
It's illegal to access any computer unauthorised, but I doubt an illegal site owner gonna sue you.
So... Moral of the story, move to Scotland. They also have almost a quater of the political control of the UK through 50 seats out of more than 200 seats! And they continue, even through promise that they won't, to vote on laws that only affect England or England and Wales!
