Editing Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (section)

===Aaron Swartz===
{{See also|Van Buren v. United States}}
{{quotebox
|quote = The government was able to bring such disproportionate charges against Aaron because of the broad scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and the wire fraud statute. It looks like the government used the vague wording of those laws to claim that violating an online service's user agreement or terms of service is a violation of the CFAA and the wire fraud statute.

Using the law in this way could criminalize many everyday activities and allow for outlandishly severe penalties.

When our laws need to be modified, Congress has a responsibility to act. A simple way to correct this dangerous legal interpretation is to change the CFAA and the wire fraud statutes to exclude terms of service violations. I will introduce a bill that does exactly that.
|source = —Rep. [[Zoe Lofgren]], Jan 15, 2013 <ref name="huffingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/15/zoe-lofgren-aarons-law-swartz_n_2483770.html |work=Huffington Post |title=Congresswoman Introduces 'Aaron's Law' Honoring Swartz |date=January 15, 2013 |first=Ryan J. |last=Reilly}}</ref>
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{{wikisource|Rep Zoe Lofgren Introduces Bipartisan Aaron's Law}}

In the wake of the prosecution and subsequent suicide of [[Aaron Swartz]] (who used a script to download scholarly research articles in excess of what [[JSTOR]] terms of service allowed), lawmakers proposed amending the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Representative [[Zoe Lofgren]] drafted a bill that would help "prevent what happened to Aaron from happening to other Internet users".<ref name="huffingtonpost.com"/> Aaron's Law ({{USBill|113|hr|2454}}, {{USBill|113|s|1196}}<ref>{{USBill|113|hr|2454|site=yes}}; [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2454 H.R. 2454] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715064344/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr2454 |date=July 15, 2018 }} at [[GovTrack]]; [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-h2454/ H.R. 2454] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112102251/http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-h2454/ |date=November 12, 2013 }} at [[OpenCongress]]. {{USBill|113|s|1196|site=yes}}; [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1196 S. 1196] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715040512/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1196 |date=July 15, 2018 }} at [[GovTrack]]; [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-s1196/ S. 1196] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112102253/http://www.opencongress.org/bill/113-s1196/ |date=November 12, 2013 }} at [[OpenCongress]].</ref>) would exclude [[terms of service]] violations from the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and from the wire fraud statute.<ref>{{cite news|last=Musil |first=Steven |newspaper=CNET News |date=15 January 2013 | access-date=19 Oct 2021| url=https://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57564193-93/new-aarons-law-aims-to-alter-controversial-computer-fraud-law/ |title=New 'Aaron's Law' aims to alter controversial computer fraud law}}</ref>

In addition to Lofgren's efforts, Representatives [[Darrell Issa]] and [[Jared Polis]] (also on the [[House Judiciary Committee]]) raised questions in the immediate aftermath of Swartz's death regarding the government's handling of the case. Polis called the charges "ridiculous and trumped up," referring to Swartz as a "martyr."<ref name=Hill/> Issa, chair of the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight Committee]], announced an investigation of the Justice Department's prosecution.<ref name="Hill">{{cite web|last=Sasso |first=Brendan |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/139354-lawmakers-slam-doj-prosecution-of-swartz-as-ridiculous-absurd/ |title=Lawmakers slam DOJ prosecution of Swartz as 'ridiculous, absurd' |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date= 2013-01-16|access-date=2013-01-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/15/darrell-issa-aaron-swartz-_n_2481450.html |title=Darrell Issa Probing Prosecution Of Aaron Swartz, Internet Pioneer Who Killed Himself |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=January 15, 2013|access-date=2013-01-16 |first1=Ryan J. |last1=Reilly}}</ref>

By May 2014, Aaron's Law had stalled in committee. Filmmaker [[Brian Knappenberger]] alleges this occurred due to [[Oracle Corporation]]'s financial interest in maintaining the status quo.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://o.canada.com/technology/swartz-doc-director-oracle-and-larry-ellison-killed-aarons-law |work=Postmedia |first=Jonathan |last=Dekel |title=Swartz doc director: Oracle and Larry Ellison killed Aaron's Law |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=May 1, 2014 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014431/https://o.canada.com/technology/swartz-doc-director-oracle-and-larry-ellison-killed-aarons-law |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Aaron's Law was reintroduced in May 2015 ({{USBill|114|hr|1918}}, {{USBill|114|s|1030}}<ref>{{USBill|114|hr|1918|site=yes}}{{USBill|114|s|1030|site=yes}}</ref>) and again stalled. There has been no further introduction of related bills.{{as of?|date=February 2023}}

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