The Nays Have It: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Should Not Apply to Employees Who Violate Employer Imposed Computer Access and Data Use Restrictions to Steal Comphny Data

摘要

In conclusion, a clear disagreement exists among the circuit courts of appeal as to the applicability of the CFAA to employees that violate employer imposed computer use and restriction policies. The deep circuit court split consists of three drastically different schools of thought: a purpose-based theory, a cessation of agency theory, and a code-based theory. A survey of the existing case law in both courts of appeal and district courts, demonstrates that the lower courts are unable to uniformly apply the CFAA; therefore, it is now necessary for the Supreme Court to step in and set a clear precedent.