Security News > 2020 > April > CFAA latest: Supremes to tackle old chestnut of what 'authorized use' of a computer really means in America

CFAA latest: Supremes to tackle old chestnut of what 'authorized use' of a computer really means in America
2020-04-20 23:33

The particular case under review concerns former police sergeant Nathan Van Buren who was convicted in 2017 under the CFAA for running a computer search for a license plate number.

Lawyers and legal minds have been fighting over the question of authorized and unauthorized use under the CFAA ever since it was enacted back in 1986.

Just to open Pandora's Box a little more: a change in how the CFAA works would impact one of the most controversial cases it was used in - to prosecute Aaron Swartz for downloading millions of research papers.

Back in 2013, House Representative Zoe Lofgren drafted a bill that would have specifically excluded terms of service from the CFAA because of what happened to Swartz.

At the time - five years ago now - Lofgren argued that the CFAA was "Long overdue for reform."


News URL

https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/20/supreme_court_cfaa/