The feds arrested Hunter Moore and an alleged co-conspirator on Thursday for hacking into email accounts to get nude photos Moore published on isanyoneup.com. At the heart of the prosecution is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the federal statute that makes it a crime (and in some circumstances, gives rise to civil liability) for accessing a computer without authorization.
Few will come to these guys’ defense in this situation. Moore’s conduct in publishing and promoting isanyoneup.com was reprobate, and if the allegations in this criminal action prove true, that backend nefariousness will simply multiply the reasons why Moore was known as the most hated man on the internet. And because of this disdain for Moore’s conduct, most of us are happy to see the CFAA used aggressively against him.
But that’s the same statute many blame for crushing Aaron Swartz. To the extent a reasonable person may feel ill-will against Hunter Moore, he or she may feel sympathy, indeed compassion, for Aaron Swartz having had the CFAA book thrown at him. Against Moore there’s a sense of justice, against Swartz, a palpable injustice.
Isn’t it a bit mysterious how the same conduct — granted, for way different purposes and under different circumstances — can elicit such contrasting emotions?