Law / United States / 
Montana
Montana Unlawful Use of a Computer, without consent of the owner
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Do not knowingly or purposely obtain the use or access of a computer, computer system or computer network without the owner's consent; the value of the property affected grades the penalty and is not an element, and the offense covers access when no loss can be articulated.
- Do not knowingly or purposely and without authorization introduce a computer contaminant that deletes, modifies, or renders unavailable data, programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, computer network, or electronic device (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(1)(c)).
- Do not knowingly or purposely and without authorization introduce a computer contaminant to gain access to data, programs, supporting documentation, computer systems, including peripheral devices, or computer networks in order to delete, encrypt, modify, append, or otherwise render them unavailable, where they are owned or operated by a governmental or private entity or person (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(1)(f)).
- Do not knowingly or purposely and without authorization use another person's computer or computer credentials to track that person's movements or monitor that person's communications without that person's consent (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(1)(h)).
- Do not encrypt or modify another person's computer, computer system, or electronic device, subject to the exceptions in subsections (3) and (4) of section 45-6-311 (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(5)(a)).
- Do not restrict access to personal data by any means (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(5)(b)).
- Do not restrict access to a product or service because the consumer did not authorize the use or collection of data (Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(5)(c)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
In the frameworks
- NIST AI RMF
- MAP 4.1Approaches for mapping AI technology and legal risks of its components – including the use of third-party data or software – are in place, followed, and documented, as are risks of infringement of a third party’s intellectual property or other rights.
Our reading of where this law's duties sit in each framework. It never says that running a control meets the law. How we read a framework against the law
Who enforces it
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does a page that a site serves to every visitor give the "consent of the owner" that Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(1)(b) requires for obtaining "the use or access" of a computer system?
- Does a website owner's terms of use barring automated collection withdraw the "consent of the owner" under Mont. Code Ann. section 45-6-311(1)(b)?
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Section 45-6-311 makes it an offense to obtain use of or access to a computer, computer system or computer network without the owner's consent, and to introduce a contaminant, destroy or take data, or misuse another person's credentials. It imposes no duty to create, keep, produce or review a log or record. The section states no territorial clause.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Under Title 45 (Crimes), Chapter 6 (Offenses Against Property), Part 3 (Theft and Related Offenses), a person commits the offense of unlawful use of a computer when, knowingly or purposely and without authorization, the person obtains the use or access of any computer, computer system, or computer network without consent of the owner, among other prohibited acts such as destroying or rendering data inoperable, introducing a computer contaminant, disclosing or taking trade secrets or confidential data, or using another person's computer credentials without permission.
The offense sits among the property crimes and is graded by value: subsection (2) sets a fine of up to $1,500 or up to 6 months in the county jail, or both, for loss of property not exceeding $1,500 or when no loss can be articulated, and a fine of up to 2 1/2 times the value of the property or up to 10 years in state prison, or both, for loss above $1,500, so the offense reaches access that causes no measurable loss and the value of the property only grades the penalty.
The section was enacted in 1981 and amended in 1983, 1993, 1999, 2009 and 2023, and no legislative record located states the day on which the 1981 act came into force. Subsection (1)(c) reaches a person who, knowingly or purposely and without authorization, introduces a computer contaminant that deletes, modifies, or renders unavailable data, programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, computer network, or electronic device.
Subsection (1)(f) reaches a person who, knowingly or purposely and without authorization, introduces a computer contaminant to gain access to data, programs, supporting documentation, computer systems, including peripheral devices, or computer networks in order to delete, encrypt, modify, append, or otherwise render them unavailable.
Subsection (1)(h) reaches a person who, knowingly or purposely and without authorization, uses another person's computer or computer credentials to track that person's movements or monitor that person's communications without that person's consent.
Subsection (5) provides that a person may not encrypt or modify another person's computer, computer system, or electronic device, restrict access to personal data by any means, or restrict access to a product or service because the consumer did not authorize the use or collection of data. Subsection (4) provides that the section does not apply to an individual who modifies, accesses, or destroys the individual's personal computer, computer network, computer system, or electronic device.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app crawls the web.
Back to the example · Lint your app
Page updated .