liability south-africa
Can you sell a program that breaks the Terms of Use of a website?
<p>I want to sell software that automates user activity on a website.
Automated interaction is against the website's Terms of Use, as you would expect.</p>

<p>Is it possible to legally sell someone a tool to automate certain aspects of their use on a website if it breaks said website's Terms of Use?</p>

<p>If and when a user is punished for automation, they might want to come after me for creating and selling them the software. Assuming I am able to sell this tool legally, are there terms I can add to a EULA, Terms of Use, or something similar that protect me from users who were punished for automation, from coming after me? </p>

<h2>No</h2>
<p>Unauthorized access to a computer is a crime in most jurisdictions. Producing programs that do that is also a crime in most jurisdictions. For example, <a href="/questions/tagged/new-south-wales" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;new-south-wales&#39;" rel="tag">new-south-wales</a> says in <a href="http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s308g.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s308G</a> of the <em>Crimes Act 1900</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) A person who produces, supplies or obtains data--</p>
<p>(a) with the intention of committing a serious computer offence, or</p>
<p>(b) with the intention of facilitating the commission of a serious computer offence (whether by the person or by another person),</p>
<p>is guilty of an offence.</p>
<p>: Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 3 years.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(<a href="http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s308.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s308</a> includes a program in the definition of &quot;data&quot;)</p>
<p>So what you are proposing is a crime. You can't have a contract that requires the commission of a crime so your ToS are unenforcable. Fortunately, because you and your customers are engaged in a joint criminal enterprise you don't owe a duty of care to each other so they can't sue you. No doubt that will be a comfort in prison.</p>
