Re: Aaron's Law hopes to blunt US computer crime law

[Jeffrey Walton <noloader () gmail com>]

It appears the prosecutor has a history of abusing her powers.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5126017.

"Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent,"
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229,
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229

The prosecutor has a history of abusing her power. See, for example,
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5126017.

On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM, Jeffrey Walton <noloader () gmail com> wrote:
> http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Aaron-s-Law-hopes-to-blunt-US-computer-crime-law-1786033.html
>
> US Representative Zoe Lofgren has proposed an amendment to the
> Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Lofgren also presented her amendment on
> Reddit. The amendment is called "Aaron's Law" by Lofgren and is being
> put forward as a response to the death of Aaron Swartz, the internet
> activist who killed himself while facing thirteen felony counts of
> computer and wire fraud after he attempted to liberate millions of
> academic papers from the JSTOR archive.
>
> Currently, the CFAA allows prosecutors to define unauthorised access
> to computer systems such that even a simple violation of an ISP's or a
> web site's terms of service could be used to bring felony charges.
> Lofgren's proposal amends the law such that unauthorised access is not
> a felony if that access was solely contrary to terms of service or
> other contractual arrangements between a user and a service. A simple
> modification like this could well have reduced the number of felony
> charges that Swartz faced.
>
> Wire and computer fraud charges are often added in hacking cases where
> ISPs' terms of service appear to have been broken, yet the charge can
> carry a three to five year prison sentence. Lofgren says using the law
> in this way "could criminalize many everyday activities and allow for
> outlandishly severe penalties" and she is now seeking cosponsors for
> the bill, which she hopes will be enacted quickly and act as a tribute
> to Swartz's life.
>
> Other US law makers have also stepped up to condemn the prosecution;
> Representative Jared Polis reportedly said "the charges were
> ridiculous and trumped-up," while Representative Darrell Issa said his
> oversight panel would look into whether federal prosecutors had acted
> inappropriately. Lofgren, Polis and Issa are all members of the House
> Judiciary Committee. Issa also said that Congress should take up
> Swartz's aims and make more information freely available and make sure
> "that what is paid for is as widely available as possible to the
> American people".
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