Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Care you explain? I don't know what the CFAA is.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Fraud_and_Abuse_Act

The relevant part of the act would be: "Intentionally accessing a computer without authorization to obtain ... information from any protected computer". A "protected computer" is a computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication", which fits Craisglist pretty well.

Violation of the clause I quoted is a criminal offense with potential jail time.


That clause could be construed in any number of ways. Anyone accessing a web page could be liable if they have not 'obtained authorization' from the site owner.


I think they tried to circumvent that using 3tap or whatever the site was that was scraping Google's cache.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: