The California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act is in §502 of the California Penal Code.
According to the State Administrative Manual of California, the Act
affords protection to individuals, businesses, and governmental agencies from tampering, interference, damage, and unauthorized access to lawfully created computer data and computer systems. It allows for civil action against any person convicted of violating the criminal provisions for compensatory damages.
Penalties Under the CCCDAFA
According to the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, violations of the law are subject to criminal penalties. For violating some of the more major premises of the Act, the punishment can be up to a $10,000 fine and a 3-year prison term.
Notable cases 'People v. Hawkins' (2002) Hawkins had source code from his previous employer on his home machine. 'Facebook v. ConnectU', LLC, (2007) ConnectU gathered Facebook data using bots Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc. Power Ventures scraped data from Facebook Facebook, Inc. v. John Does 1-10 (2007) Various people, including some associated with Istra Holdings, scraped Facebook for data. SCEA v. George Hotz et al. (2011) Jailbreaking of the PlayStation 3 by George Hotz & associates of fail0verflow
See also Illegal number John Doe Mens rea Terms of service
External links Text of code, at Findlaw
References
Technology amp; Marketing Law Blog: Facebook v. ConnectU Update, Eric Goldman, (Law school professor), 2007 Dec, retrieved from blog.ericgoldman.org on 2011 03 06
Intellectual property and computer crimes Peter Toren, Law Journal Press, 2003, page 9-20, via books.google.com on 2011 03 06
California Code - Chapter 5: Larceny [484. - 502.9.] findlaw.com, retrieved from codes.lp.findlaw.com on 2011 03 06 The California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, laws.com, retrieved from fraud.laws.com on 12 27 2012 STATUTORY PROVISIONS ca.gov, retrieved from sam.dgs.ca.gov on 2011 03 06
Facebook, Inc. v. John Does 1-10 :: Justia Dockets, filings, justia.com, retrieved from dockets.justia.com on 2011 03 06
Porn spammers' lust for Facebook data lands them in court By Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica, December 17, 2007, retrieved from arstechnica.com on 2011 03 06
When Is Data Scraping Breaking and Entering?, Baer Crossey, baercrossey.com, retrieved 2011 03 06. Crossey gives the case identifying info as follows: 489 F.Supp.2d 1087 (N.D.Cal. 2007)
People v. Hawkins (2002) 98 Cal. App. 4th 1428 [-- Cal.Rptr.2d --] :: Justia Law justia.com, retrieved from law.justia.com on 2011 03 06