What weev did crossed many times into criminal territory. He harassed a lot of people in ways that made it either hard or unlikely to press charges.
Seriously, save the reaching argument for people who aren't complete scumbags.
Seriously, save the reaching argument for people who aren't complete scumbags.
I'd still want you to have a fair hearing if you ended up in the shit however, as I hold the quaint notion that the criminal justice system should at least attempt to be more than a popularity contest if it wants to retain any kind of legitimacy.
Security researchers in general wouldn't run afoul of even the current version IMO, though it's certainly prudent for security researches to re-emphasize how key some of those techniques are for them, so that we don't end up in a surreal situation where even altering a URL, cookie, etc. one time would subject one to conviction under CFAA.
That's the whole point of the Mencken quote squeak posted. Another favourite: "Bad cases make bad laws" - if bad principles get enshrined in the precedents made by convictions of bad people, those bad principles will hurt good people or good activity down the line. That's precisely why the EFF, Schneier, Felten, et al., are devoting their precious time to this case.