Am I responsible for roommates internet activity?

Question

I have (by circumstances beyond my control) a room mate who is mentally ill, a drug adict and a felon. We each have a computer with one internet connection, which is in my name. Can I get in trouble for his internet activity? (ie fraud, child porn or anything else unscrupulous)

Thanks to those who have been helpful. For those who feel the need to be pompous asses, I will explain further.

I am a counselor at a sober living facility. I recently discovered a resident here has access to the internet through my account. According to my provider the original connection is in his room and cannot be disabled because it is the "main", and mine is connected through it. All I wanted to know was if I could be held liable for any illegal internet activity so I could decide if I wanted to cancel my account. Thanks to the people who answered my simple question, instead of making assumptions about my intelligence and character, I have decided to cancel my account and use the internet elsewhere.

Answer 1

I think if it came to criminal charges, an investigator could track the internet activity to his computer's IP address. But better safe than sorry, I'd cancel the account and use a computer at a library.

Answer 2

Umm...here is a better question. Why is this person your roommate? Is it smart to be living with a mentally ill, drug-addicted ex-con? Get a new roommate...even if this person is your friend or whatever it will cause more problems than it is worth. Addicts steal and sell whatever they can for drug money so when they are binging your stuff is going first.

What a dumbass move, seriously. Why don't you let the pedophile down the street babysit for you too?

Answer 3

Yes, you are responsible for his activity. I believe it could be very hard to prove that he is the one accessing a given site or performing a given action and not you because of the privacy laws from all implicated services.

Answer 4

Yes -- the actions under your internet account trace back to you. Kick him off your network.

Answer 5

You could. I would delete all of your e-mails and screen names and let her have her own.