A Southern California man today was arrested and accused of running a business in which he jailbroke video game consoles so they had the ability to play pirated video games.
Matthew Crippen, 27, a student at California State University, Fullerton, was arrested and released on $5,000 bond stemming from the charges. Crippen reportedly jailbroke Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii game consoles -- an illegal activity under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of two felony charges.
He reportedly earned $30 per game console, and defended himself by saying he did it as a service for people looking to play decrypted copies of legally purchased software, not pirated content. When his house was raided, more than a dozen various game consoles were seized and checked into evidence. He learned how to jailbreak consoles by searching Google, and normally spent around 10 minutes to help jailbreak the units.
A possible former neighbor informed federal agents, who launched an undercover investigation into Crippen's activities. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) contacted the Homeland Security Department's Customs Enforcement, which carried out the investigation and raid.
I certainly don't condone running a home business where you're jailbreaking video game consoles or Apple iPhones, but I think having Homeland Security move in and arrest him is a bit over the top. However, what he was doing is illegal -- and he likely realized he could be arrested -- but I don't think he expected there would be such serious repercussions.
Do you think police should be arresting people who are involved in activities similar to what Crippen was doing?
