Eric Goldman writes: Last week, the Supreme Court decided Van Buren v. US. Many hoped the decision would clarify how owners can delimit third-party usage of their computer resources for purposes of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act (CFAA). Disappointingly, the court explicitly punted on that key question, though the decision probably will prompt lower…
Category: Federal
South Africa lays down the law on cybercrime
Karen Allen writes: A new law brings South Africa up to international standards for fighting cybercrime. […] Together with the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act 2020, which will be in full effect after 30 June 2021, the new cyber law is a key part of South Africa’s armoury in the fight against cybercrime. […] In summary, cybercrime…
Van Buren is a Victory Against Overbroad Interpretations of the CFAA, and Protects Security Researchers
Aaron Mackey and Kurt Opsahl of EFF write: The Supreme Court’s Van Buren decision today overturned a dangerous precedent and clarified the notoriously ambiguous meaning of “exceeding authorized access” in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the federal computer crime law that’s been misused to prosecute beneficial and important online activity. The decision is a victory for all Internet…
Diverse six-justice majority rejects broad reading of computer-fraud law
Ronald Mann writes: The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday in Van Buren v. United States provides the court’s first serious look at one of the most important criminal statutes involving computer-related crime, the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion for a majority 0f six firmly rejected the broad reading of that statute that the…
ZA: President Ramaphosa signs Cyber Crimes Bill into law
Admire Moyo reports: The Cyber Crimes Bill, which seeks to bring SA’s cyber security laws in line with the rest of the world, has just been signed into law by president Cyril Ramaphosa. According to law firm Werksmans Attorneys, this Bill, which is now an Act of Parliament, creates offences for and criminalises, among others,…
New Privacy Bill Provides Opt-Out Rights and New Data Security Requirements
Andrew Longhi, Jayne Ponder, and Libbie Canter of Covington & Burling write: To add to the growing list of federal privacy frameworks introduced this year, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has re-introduced the bipartisan Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2021 (S. 1667). Senator Klobuchar introduced the bill originally in 2018 and 2019, although it did…