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| Reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is stalled...for now. Image: Shutterstock |
Advocates of Aaron’s Law, proposed to deal with reforming the problematic Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act (CFAA), experienced a set back on Wednesday as authors Rep. Zoe
Lofgren and Sen. Ron Wyden were unable to convince the House Judiciary
Committee, headed by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, to discuss the bill.
“There is still a pressing need for Computer
Fraud and Abuse Act [CFAA] reform,” said Lofgren. “Unfortunately, Chairman
Goodlatte has refused to schedule any debate or vote on this important issue.”
Jessica Collins,
press secretary for the House Judiciary Committee, said CFAA reform is
supported by Rep. Goodlatte, but there are no plans currently to bring the bill
to discussion.
Aaron’s Law,
named for Aaron Schwartz, an internet activist who committed suicide in January
2013, would clear up vagueness and remove the possibility of duplicate charges
for offenses in the CFAA as it currently stands.
The CFAA states
that anyone who accesses a computer without proper authorization or in a way
that “exceeds authorization” could be charged with a felony. The problem, Lofren and Wyden posit, is that
this would anyone who lies about their age to sign up for Facebook or checks
personal email on a work computer could be found guilty of a felony. The CFAA also prevents professionals working
to determine internet security issues from doing their jobs.
Experts suggest a
variety of reasons why lawmakers and the general public haven’t pushed more
actively for a discussion of the proposed bill.
Some say there is little interest at the moment; others, such as Mark Jaycox,
legislative analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, suggest that some
companies “offered a fierce attack on common sense changes to the CFAA due to
certain companies use of the CFAA not as a statute being used in civil suits to
prosecute computer hacking as it was originally intended, but being used to
protect trade secrets.”
The question of
whether to err on the side of more severe policies against growing cyber crime
or move toward a softer approach so as to protect civil liberties online is a
thorny one still under much debate.
While Aaron’s Law may still stand a chance of being brought up for
discussion, it would appear that, at least for now, advocates will have to look
elsewhere to address their internet security concerns.
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