Brief filed: 08/30/2018
Documents
United States v. Manning
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; Case No. 18-0317/AR
Argument(s)
The lower courts misconstrued the technology at issue. The lower courts misconstrued the CFAA’s purpose and case law. Congress intended the CFAA to target serious computer break-ins. Consistent with Congress’s intent, courts across the country have held that the CFAA does not criminalize violations of computer use policies. Courts adopting the ‘narrow’ interpretation have rejected the lower courts’ theory that written computer use restrictions on how someone accesses information are ‘access’ restrictions. The military judge ignored basic rules of statutory construction. The lower courts’ broad reading of the CFAA renders the statute unconstitutionally vague.
Author(s)
Jamie Williams, Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA
