Cybercrime & Misdemeanors: A Reevaluation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Reid Skibell · bepress Legal Repository · 2003
This Article contends that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is an overly punitive and largely ineffective approach to combating computer crime based on two fundamental critiques.The 1986 version of the CFAA contemplated a core distinction between harmless trespass and more substantial intrusions.Over time, this distinction has become obscured and is resulting in over-criminalization of offenders.Furthermore, the increased penalties for computer crime created by the USA PA-TRIOT Act, and the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, are unjust in application and ineffectual in deterring prospective computer criminals.