Justices Side With Police Officer in Anti-Hacking Law Test (3)

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a former police officer for accessing an enforcement database in a case that tested the bounds of a federal anti-hacking law.

The justices favored a narrow reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, writing in a Thursday decision that a broad interpretation would attach criminal penalties to “a breathtaking amount of commonplace computer activity.”

The case, Van Buren v. United States, asked whether an officer who misused his authorized access to the database should be held liable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The law makes it a crime ...