District court holds that parody social media accounts do not violate the CFAA

In Matot v. CH, No. 6:13-cv-153 (D. Ore. 2013), the district court held that the creation of parody social media accounts does not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

Last year, the Ninth Circuit adopted a reading of the CFAA that does not allow for the law to be applied to the violation of a website's terms of service. United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012). A broad reading would allow such violations (for example, falsifying your age on a dating website) to be punishable under the CFAA through criminal and civil action. Some courts have adopted the broad reading (United States v. Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2010); United States v. John, 597 F.3d 263 (5th Cir. 2010); Int’l Airport Ctrs., LLC v. Citrin, 440 F.3d 418 (7th Cir. 2006).

In Matot, the plaintiff argued that the "defendants created false social media profiles in his name and likeness," violating the "without authorization" provision of the CFAA. The district court, however, found the argument to go against the Ninth Circuit's interpretation of the CFAA and the rule of lenity.