> His case was a simple hacking case (as the crime is defined in federal statutes). There was nothing special about it politically or technologically or proced

> His case was a simple hacking case (as the crime is defined in federal statutes). There was nothing special about it politically or technologically or procedurally http://goo.gl/CNsfK http://goo.gl/CNsfK The prosecution's case ultimately depended on whether or not breaking a Terms of Service agreement can be deemed a violation of the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- the principal federal anti-hacking statute. While the law was designed to ban hackers from spreading viruses and stealing property, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that such activity includes violating Terms of Service agreements. The Seventh Circuit's decision was widely mocked by internet experts, who noted that nearly anyone could become criminally liable for reading blogs if a blog owner simply set up an outrageous terms of service agreement. In addition, a more recent decision by the Ninth Circuit rejected the Seventh Circuit's reasoning in 2010, and the Obama administration chose not to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.