Ninth Circuit: Speculative “Loss” Insufficient for Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

A plaintiff's claim that he would need to retain a forensic computer expert to examine a third party's computer to detect and delete the data taken from his thumb drive was considered to be too speculative to qualify as a "loss" under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA"). This was the Ninth Circuit Court …

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What a Wonderful Day!

Today I had the wonderful pleasure of speaking to a couple of classes at Farine Elementary school for Career Day. What a wonderful experience! I don't care how busy or important you are (or think you are), if you ever get a chance to speak to elementary school children, you better take it. Why, you …

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Another Pregnancy Discrimination / Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Case?

That's right, we have another one! Do you recall Lee v. PMSI, Inc.---the case that burned up the blogs and Twitter feeds last week because it involved Facebook? You remember, the case in which the court found that an employee's using Facebook and checking personal email at work was not a violation of the Computer …

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Proposed Amendment: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (Senate Bill S 890)

On May 5, 2011, Senators Leahy and Grassley introduced Senate Bill S 890 that is titled "Fighting Fraud to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2011." The Bill, which classifies a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (the "CFAA") as a "fraud offense" just like securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and tax …

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Barter Services and Attorney Fees May Qualify As “Loss” Under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

Cash payment not required! Bartered services, lost employee time, perhaps even fees for attorney investigating / overseeing investigation--all can satisfy the $5,000 mandatory "loss" required to bring a civil action under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This we can take from a recent case, Animators at Law, Inc. v. Capital Legal Solutions, LLC, Case …

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iTracking II: Apple Sued Again for Violating Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

It has happened again -- another plaintiff has sued Apple along with Pandora, The Weather Channel, and several "Does"  in another class action law suit for, what I have referred to as, iTracking -- you know, the "scandal" that broke not too long ago about how Apple, and others, have been allegedly collecting users private …

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Facebooking at Work Does Not Violate Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

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 …

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Computer Use Policies – Do They Even Matter?

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 …

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Bye Bye Brekka–Hello Nosal! Ninth Circuit Warms-up to Intended-Use Theory of “Access” Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

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 …

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Holy CFAA Access News! The 9th Cir. join the 5th and 11th in United States v. Nosal

Holy CFAA Access News! The 9th Cir. joins the 5th and 11th in United States v. Nosal... more later http://ow.ly/4JaHI