Supreme Court Interprets “Exceeds Authorized Access” Clause of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Narrowly

June 7, 2021-The Supreme Court recently weighed in on a circuit split regarding the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s (CFAA) “exceeds unauthorized access” clause. This clause is often used to litigate against employees who access proprietary data for an improper purpose.  The Case, Van Buren v. United States centered around a former police officer’s criminal conviction under the CFAA for accessing a police license plate database, which he had authorization to access, to do a search for money violating department policy. Ultimately, the Court held that the CFAA “does not cover those who, like Van Buren, have improper motives for obtaining information that is otherwise available to them.” The Court also noted that a broader interpretation of “exceeds authorized access” would allow criminal penalties for a vast amount of “commonplace computer activity”. Proskauer Rose LLP’s Jeffrey Neuburger and Jonathan Mollod break down both the Supreme Court’s decision, and potential future implications of the Court’s interpretation of the CFAA provision.

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