Activists Abhor Draft Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Amendment

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) has become one of the most hated laws in technology — and a discussion draft of CFAA amendments circulating Monday does not appear to be bridging the chasm of opinion surrounding the law. Instead, the draft, which lacks a known author, is only serving to further aggravate the rising chorus calling for CFAA reform.

The CFAA, originally written in 1984 to criminalize intrusions into military and banking computer systems, has since dramatically expanded in scope and usage. It's become highly popular with federal prosecutors for a variety of situations — notably being used in the high-profile cases against Aaron Swartz, Bradley Manning, Andrew Auernheimer and Matthew Keys. Critics argue that it has expanded much too far beyond its original intent, that it's too vague and that it carries punishments disproportionate to the crimes which it covers — problems that may be exacerbated rather than solved under the new discussion draft