Lawmakers Say CFAA Is Too Hard On Hackers 154
GovTechGuy writes "A number of lawmakers are using the death of Internet activist Aaron Swartz to speak out against the Justice Department's handling of the case, and application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The controversy surrounding the Swartz case could finally give activists the momentum they need to halt the steady increase in penalties for even minor computer crimes."
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Steady increase (Score:2, Informative)
Swartz was facing a maximum (!) of about a year of prison under federal sentencing guidelines, had been offered a plea bargain of six months, and probably would have been sentenced to even less given his background and stellar law team.
The average prison sentence for rape in the US is about 11.8 years (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_regarding_rape).
But don't let facts get in the way of a good rant.
Re:Steady increase (Score:5, Informative)
Except that's not how it works. A plea deal isn't a contract in which you get what you want in exchange for what they want.
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2013/01/towards-learning-losing-aaron-swartz-part-2 [stanford.edu]