Computer crime to change one's IP to gain access to a system they're banned at

[David H. Lipman]

Changing IP address to access public website ruled violation of US law
 

Changing your IP address or using proxy servers to access public websites you've been forbidden to visit is a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a judge ruled Friday in a case involving Craigslist and 3taps.

The legal issue is similar to one in the Aaron Swartz case, in which there was debate over whether Swartz "had committed an unauthorized access under the CFAA when he changed his IP address to circumvent IP address blocking imposed by system administrators trying to keep Swartz off the network," law professor Orin Kerr wrote yesterday on the Volokh Conspiracy blog.

The ruling in Craigslist v. 3taps (PDF) is the first "directly addressing the issue," Kerr wrote. 3taps drew Craigslist's ire by aggregating and republishing its ads, so Craigslist sent a cease-and-desist letter telling the company not to do that. Craigslist also blocked IP addresses associated with 3taps' systems.

[CWB]

ya gotta be kidding ...  of course , falsely representing and/or using any method with malice and forethought to do such is a fraudulent activity .

if it is the nature and intent of an activity to purposely/knowingly deceive , it is fraud .

and the ol' "they locked the front door , i'll just sneak around and use the back door ..." , pretty much speaks for itself .

[David H. Lipman]

Some people don't see it that way.

 

If you are kicked out of the local Bodega and told you can never return, and you do, that's criminal trespass.

 

If you are banned from a web site and you return and used technology to circumvent protective schemes you are committing computer fraud.

[vince_]

I think this is a good thing as most people who get banned have done something wrong. I think this needs to be a law in every part of the world.

Lets hope other countries follow suit.