Appeals Court Ponders 1984 Computer Fraud Law

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is being asked to revisit the government’s use of the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in respect to how it applies to securing passwords, and access to confidential online accounts. The reconsideration is part of an eight-year ongoing case in which a Bay Area executive was convicted of combing his company’s database for information to form a rival company. The Ninth Circuit reversed a jury verdict in the case, finding the government had overreached and siding with defendants who claimed the reasoning in the case could be used to make a felon out of every husband who logs into his wife’s Facebook account. Privacy groups and the tech industry will be watching the case carefully.