[fmax30]

Oh wow, that seems to be really dark, bordering on blackmail.

And to be very honest, if they were to take down the repo, I would be very surprised if it does have an effect on the immigration status of the author.

This whole saga leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'd be very careful in dealing with this company in the future, and might even consider dropping my subscription to them (or their parent company).

[runnerup]

“bordering” may be necessary to avoid slander/libel, but I don’t feel it’s “bordering”. Obviously I don’t know for sure but as a layperson I find it difficult to see how this isn’t just actual blackmail.

I’m not a lawyer so I’d be interested to learn ways that this isn’t a violation of California penal code PC 519, very specifically PC 523, and more generally PC 518. If anyone could educate me and help me see how it is not blackmail/extortion, I would genuinely appreciate that.

Penal Code 518 defines the California crime of extortion. The law says that a person commits extortion by:

obtaining property or other consideration from another person without that person’s consent, …and doing so by means of force or fear.

Penal Code 519 says that, for purposes of extortion charges, fear is an emotion generated by certain specific threats. These include the threat to:

…accuse a person, or that person’s relative or family member, of a crime,

…report a person’s immigration status or suspected immigration status.

New York’s law is quite similar, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/135.60 but merely a class A misdemeanor.

[mcguire]

This is the company that recently took over development of Audacity.