A cybersecurity law in front of the Supreme Court could have Americans reconsidering sharing their Netflix password.
The court began hearing arguments in Van Buren v. United States on Monday, where justices will decide just what "unauthorized use" of a computer means in the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The case involves a former police sergeant who shared license plate data with an acquaintance, but supporters of the plaintiff warn the Supreme Court's interpretation of the law could have far broader consequences.
Even though the CFAA was enacted well before the current internet era, it still governs "unauthorized" access to a computer or network, TechCrunch describes. In this case, former police sergeant Nathan Van Buren was found guilty of violating the CFAA because he did not use the data for its authorized purpose. The Supreme Court is set to interpret just what "unauthorized" access really means.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
By defining unauthorized too broadly, the court could "decide whether millions of ordinary Americans are committing a federal crime whenever they engage in computer activities that, while common, don't comport with an online service or employer's terms of use," Riana Pfefferkorn, associate director of surveillance and cybersecurity at Stanford University's law school, told TechCrunch. That could include sharing a streaming service password, lying on a dating site, or using a work computer for a non-work purpose, Pfefferkorn said.
Pfefferkorn's colleague Jeff Fisher, who is representing Van Buren, was sure to note in his briefs how the Supreme Court could end up opening a can of worms for Tinder and its 5'11" clientele. Kathryn Krawczyk
-
An introvert's dream? Flu camps that offer £4,400 to spend two weeks aloneUnder The Radar A fortnight in isolation may not be as blissful as it sounds
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and TwinlessFeature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
