- If you're like most people on this planet, you consider yourself a good person. You probably hold doors open for people, you have good manners, and of course, you would never think of breaking the law. But you might be surprised to learn that you may be breaking multiple laws every day and you don't even realize it. Yes, there are laws in place that forbid many of the things that we are used to doing every day, but are actually illegal. So today I'm going to tell you exactly what those laws are, and trust me, they're going to surprise you.
And yes, these are real laws, and yes, you can be arrested for them. So without further ado, here are 10 Laws You've Broken Without Even Knowing. Yeah, you also might wanna get your lawyer on the phone by the end of this one, just in case https://oncasinogames.com/poker/. Number one is singing Happy Birthday. If you've ever sang the song Happy Birthday in a public place, believe it or not, you've broken the law, surprise! The song was actually copyrighted back in 1935, and technically, you need to pay royalties in order to use it. Now, you might be thinking, well right, that's technically the law, but nobody actually abides by it, well actually that song brings in an estimated $2 million a year, so somebody's paying it. The copyright to the song was purchased by Warner Music in 1988 for $25 million, and since then, has been the topic of multiple lawsuits. Now the song remains in a huge grey area at the moment, but most legal professionals realistically consider this song to be in a public domain at this point. However, Warner Music would disagree, mostly because the song is the highest earning single song in history, as well as the most recognizable song in the English language. But don't worry, you keep singing that Happy Birthday song, whatever makes you feel good, baby. You stick it to the man with your bad self. (barks) Number two is connecting to unsecured WiFi networks, let's be completely honest, some of you get pretty excited when your neighbor has unsecured WiFi, free surfing and no bill! (makes mouth noise) Good times, except that it can get you thrown in prison. Connecting to an unsecured WiFi connection falls under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes it a crime to have unauthorized access to anyone's computer or their WiFi. How serious is it? Well in the United States, it's a third degree felony that carries a prison sentence of up to two years in jail and up to $10,000 in fines. Now, realistically, will this happen? Probably not, but, I wouldn't want to test getting caught. Besides if you really want WiFi, just come over to my place. My WiFi is Bill Nye The Science Fi and the password is science rules, I'm a loner. Number three is selling stuff online. Most of us at some point have sold something online, whether it's through Ebay or some other online merchant. And these sites have very clear rules when it comes to selling things like bootlegged movies, alcohol and tobacco products, this you already know, but did you know that anything you sell online, big or small, must be claimed as income on your Federal tax return? Oh yeah, you're going to jail because you sold an old sweater, sorry. No of course I'm kidding, chances are the Federal government is not going to find out about the $10 that you made off of selling your old Pogs, but the fact remains that the law requires you to claim that money, in fact, theoretically the IRS, CRA or whatever governing tax body your country has doesn't care where your income comes from as long as you claim it and pay taxes on it. This literally means that if you're a drug dealer, you better be claiming all those dime bags you sellin, baby. Although nobody really expects all you mini Pablo Escobars out there to start paying your fair share of taxes, so, you go on your way, number four is throwing away junk mail. Okay, be honest, if you've ever moved into a new place, what do you do with the junk mail that you receive that was meant for the previous tenants? How many times have you actually written return to sender, or person has moved on those envelopes and taken the time to go back to the post office? I'm gonna guess none of you, most people in those situations wind up throwing those pieces of mail in the garbage, but guess what? It's super illegal, in fact is a Federal crime to open, destroy or otherwise tamper with another person's mail. And that includes tossing it in the trash, even junk mail. How illegal is it? Well, try a $250,000 fine and potentially five years in prison, yikes.
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