Stating The Obvious

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/04/computer-fraud-and-abuse-act/


Unless you steal something, you cannot be charged with theft. Unless you murder someone, you cannot be charged with murder. And this makes sense, and this is a good thing. So, this recent court decision makes sense. The court decision in question states that, unless you are a hacker, you cannot be charged for hacking.


Let's look at this bill a little bit more. The specific bill is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, enacted in 1984 (any legislation that old relating to computers is likely to outdated anyway.) This bill has been interpreted to allow people who violate terms of service on websites, and who violate computer usage policies at their places of work, to be prosecuted as criminals. Rightfully so, this bill has recently been brought into question, and ultimately has been rebuked.


There's not much more to say about this bill; the legislation and the interpretation of the legislation basically speak for themselves. It's important to note that currently this rebuke was decided by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It is likely, however, that this will reach the Supreme Court at some point in the future, and will hopefully be rebuked on the national level.