ACLU lawsuit challenges US computer hacking law

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a 30-year-old hacking-crimes law, with the civil liberties group saying the law inhibits research about online discrimination.

The ACLU on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act on behalf of a group of academic researchers, computer scientists, and journalists. The CFAA limits online research because of its “overbroad criminal prohibitions,” the ACLU said.

The group of plaintiffs in the lawsuit want to investigate online discrimination in areas like housing and employment, “but they often can’t,” the ACLU said in a blog post. Courts have interpreted a provision of the CFAA prohibiting people from exceeding authorized access to a computer to include violations of website terms of service, the ACLU said.

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