By: Courtney Samford, contributing author Blake Sims, Wyatt Summer Associate

Employers commonly supply computer and work devices to employees and state that the electronics may only be used for business related purposes, and employers have always had the ability to discipline employees who violate computer use policies through improper use. In some Federal Court of Appeals Circuits, employers may have been able to rely on threats of criminal and civil liabilities under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 to further deter improper use. On June 3, 2021, however, an evenly split conservative-liberal majority of the Supreme Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Van Buren v. United States, holding that an individual only violates the Section 1030 of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act “when he accesses a computer with authorization but then obtains information located in particular areas of the computer—such as files, folders, or databases—that are off limits to him.” Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783 (Sup. Ct. June 3, 2021).