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The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a controversial anti-hacking law which bans “exceeding authorized access” on a computer system, was narrowed by the Supreme Court on Thursday in a 6-3 ruling. The court said the law shouldn’t cover people misusing systems they’re allowed to access — and that claiming otherwise would criminalize a “breathtaking amount” of everyday computer use.
The court case, Van Buren v. United States, concerns a former Georgia police officer named Nathan Van Buren. Van Buren accepted $5,000 in exchange for looking up a woman’s license plate in a police database. (The deal was actually an FBI sting operation, and the plate number was fictitious.) Because the exchange violated department rules, prosecutors said…
