The actual case was literally pursued as a civil offence. "Potentially" is not a useful adjective.
The TLDR I've been given is that it's civil when the prosecution is a non-government entity (private person or company), and when the penalty is an injunction or a fine, and when the standard is "preponderance of the evidence".
Conversely, it's criminal when the prosecution is a government/when the sought penalty is imprisonment, and when the standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt".
alt Hacker News
The actual case was literally pursued as a civil offence. "Potentially" is not a useful adjective.
The TLDR I've been given is that it's civil when the prosecution is a non-government entity (private person or company), and when the penalty is an injunction or a fine, and when the standard is "preponderance of the evidence".
Conversely, it's criminal when the prosecution is a government/when the sought penalty is imprisonment, and when the standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt".