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HN · Digital rightsCurated

After Aaron Swartz: reforming computer crime law

Summary

After Aaron Swartz's death, the EFF calls for narrower offences and proportionate penalties in the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Aaron Swartz died in January 2013. The EFF demanded a reform of the CFAA.

Ideas

  • Broad terms criminalise possible violations of terms of service.
  • Prosecutors can stack several offences into extreme threatened penalties.
  • Security research needs clear boundaries between harm and rule-breaking.
  • Penalties should take actual harm and intent into account.

Insights

  • Unclear laws give individual authorities disproportionate bargaining power.
  • Technical access control and legal permission are not the same.
  • Excessive sentencing ranges prevent public judicial review.

Facts

  • The case concerned mass downloads of academic articles.

Recommendations

  • Separate unauthorised access from mere breaches of contract.
  • Explicitly protect good-faith security research.

References

Read the original article

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