The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that is likely to severely limit the ability of an employer to use the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to sue an employee who uses his or her work-related computer authorization to access the employer’s confidential and proprietary information for an unauthorized purpose, for example selling the information for personal gain.
The High Court’s June 3 decision in Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783 (U.S. 2021), resolves a federal circuit court split on the circumstances under which an individual “exceeds authorized access” to a “protected computer” under the CFAA. In its 6 – 3 ruling, the Court established a new bright line rule, finding that individuals either have access to the information in question or they do not.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.