The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Van Buren v. United States, which asked the nine Justices to interpret the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030. The CFAA was enacted in 1986, just...more
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari in Van Buren v. United States to consider whether a person who is authorized to access information on a computer for certain purposes violates Section...more
Following an FBI sting, police sergeant Nathan Van Buren was convicted under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) for selling license plate information obtained from a police database. The Eleventh Circuit upheld...more
For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a case involving the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030. In United States v. Van Buren, the court will address the question of whether an...more
For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783. A federal circuit split exists on the issue of whether the statute can only be...more
In the wake of a 5-4 circuit court split, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari to review the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and specifically whether a person who is authorized to access...more
On Monday, April 20th, the Supreme Court accepted cert in Van Burien v. United States to (hopefully) resolve a longstanding circuit split regarding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (or CFAA): Does an individual exceed...more
Recently, the United States Supreme Court added United States v. Van Buren to its merits docket for next term. The Court will seek to resolve a circuit-split over whether a person who is authorized to access information on a...more
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") is a Federal criminal statute intended to protect government and other "protected computers" from hacking. Among other things, the CFAA serves as the basis for punishing anyone who...more
For the first time, the Supreme Court has agreed to review the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The Court’s initial review of the CFAA comes in the wake of a federal circuit split as to whether the statute can only be...more
When a person who is authorized to access information on a computer for certain purposes accesses the information for another, improper purpose, does that amount to a federal crime? The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide...more
The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in its first Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) case, Van Buren v. United States. CFAA is the federal anti-hacking law that the criminal defense and civil liberties bars have argued...more
- The U.S. Supreme Court will review whether a person who is authorized to access information on a computer for certain purposes violates the CFAA if he accesses the same information for an improper purpose. - The Court’s...more
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from a defendant who had been convicted of a felony charge under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), the federal computer crime statute. Title 18, U.S.C. §...more
On April 20, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in United States v. Van Buren, which broadly interpreted the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the main federal anti-hacking statute, as...more
While it can be hard to remember in a world dominated by COVID-19 headlines, the wheels of justice have not stopped turning at the Supreme Court—even if Justices are now hearing argument remotely. ...more
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up a case involving the scope of liability under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a federal statute that creates criminal penalties and a civil cause of...more
We have previously written about the thorny questions surrounding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), including how its ambiguous language concerning what computer use is “authorized” has divided the Circuits and how...more