Examining the Global Impact of AI + Cyber + Data + Privacy + Law = Business Risk
One court recently found that an employee who wasted work time by using the Internet excessively, including playing on Facebook, did not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by her less than industrious ways. The case is Lee v. PMSI, Inc., 2011 WL 1742028 (M.D. Fla. May 6, 2011) and the facts are pretty …
Continue reading “Facebooking at Work Does Not Violate Computer Fraud and Abuse Act”
They Certainly Do! If a company has a policy or contractual agreement that places limitations on the permissible reasons for accessing the company computer or permissible uses for the data on that computer, it will usually be enforceable according to a majority of the federal courts of appeals that have addressed the issue. What does …
Continue reading “Computer Use Policies – Do They Even Matter?”
This past Monday I blogged of what I called the “Trilogy of Access Theories” to refer to the 3 lines of circuit court cases that have different theories for interpreting “access” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). That was a FAIL! United States v. Nosal [EDITOR’S NOTE: THE CASE DISCUSSED IN THIS BLOG …
Holy CFAA Access News! The 9th Cir. joins the 5th and 11th in United States v. Nosal… more later http://ow.ly/4JaHI
that were filed against it for iTracking–that is, tracking and recording the details of all iPhone and 3G iPad owners’ movements without their knowledge. Here are two and a half reasons why: Why two and a half, you may wonder? Because one of the reasons is a 50/50 toss up! Apple has been sued for …
Continue reading “Apple Should Win the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claims …”
From what I’ve seen thus far, it should. But first let’s start with a little background … Apple Was iTracking and Got Sued! As anyone who is not living under a rock knows by now, Apple has been sued over the allegations that it has surreptitiously tracked and recorded the details of all iPhone and …
It’s always the same: Employee decides to go work for a competitor. Employee takes confidential information. Employee uses it in new job with competitor. Employer sues. We see it all the time and, in fact, it is probably the most common scenario of cases asserting claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 …
Continue reading “New “Employment” Computer Fraud and Abuse Act case … but with a twist!”
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, is predominately a criminal law that also permits those who have suffered a “damage” or “loss” to bring civil claims for its violations. The CFAA has a list of prohibitions but the most common one that individuals and business use for civil claims is …
Continue reading “Basic Elements of a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – “Fraud” Claim”
“Everything has a computer in it nowadays” as we are told by Steve Wozniak, one of the co-founders of Apple Computer. See U.S. v. Kramer, 631 F.3d 900 (8th Cir. 2011). This quote was featured prominently in the Kramer opinion handed down on February 8, 2011 in which the United States Court of Appeals for …
Continue reading “Smartphones and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act–Already Covered?”
Is there a difference in value of a businesses’ confidential information vis-a-vis copyrighted material? Is the taking of the former any less of a “loss” or “damage” to a business than the taking of the latter? Or is it something else? On April 1, 2011, I posted “Taking of Confidential Info Alone Not “Loss” Under …
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