On May 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revised its policy regarding charging decisions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The new policy makes clear, “for the first time,” that the DOJ “should decline prosecution” of “good faith” security research, even if said research involves a technical violation of the CFAA.1 The new policy also limits prosecutions based on terms of service (TOS) or other boilerplate contractual violations, in recognition of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. __ (2021).
