Law / United States / 
Ohio
Unauthorized use of computer, cable, or telecommunication property
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Access restriction
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Ordinary automated access to a public Ohio-connected computer, network, or information service, performed within the scope of the access the operator has made available, does not by itself violate this statute; the offense is knowingly gaining access, or exceeding the scope of granted access, without the consent of the owner or another person authorized to give consent.
- Unlike some other states' computer-misuse statutes, no fraudulent purpose, malicious intent, or deceptive means is required for the base offense; the base violation of the computer, cable, or telecommunications provision is already a felony of the fifth degree, regardless of the value of the property, services, or loss involved.
- Doing this for the purpose of a fraud scheme or obtaining property or services by false pretenses raises the degree to a felony of the fourth degree once the value or loss reaches $7,500, and to a felony of the third degree at $150,000 or more.
- Doing this to a computer, network, or service belonging to an elderly person or a disabled adult raises the degree on its own, independent of any fraud purpose, up to a felony of the second degree once the value or loss reaches $37,500.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
The base offense (division (G)(2)) is a felony of the fifth degree: six to twelve months imprisonment, a fine of not more than $2,500. Committed for a fraud or false-pretenses purpose, or to commit another criminal offense, with a value or loss of $7,500 to $150,000, it is a felony of the fourth degree (division (G)(3)(a)): six to eighteen months, a fine of not more than $5,000; at $150,000 or more (division (G)(3)(b)) it is a felony of the third degree: nine to thirty-six months, a fine of not more than $10,000. Where the victim is an elderly person or a disabled adult (division (G)(4)), the base is still a felony of the fifth degree, but a value or loss of $1,000 to $7,500 is a felony of the fourth degree, $7,500 to $37,500 is a felony of the third degree, and $37,500 or more is a felony of the second degree: an indefinite prison term with a minimum the court selects from two to eight years and a longer maximum term set under a separate provision (R.C. 2929.144), plus a fine of not more than $15,000. Fine ceilings by degree are set generally for all Ohio felonies at R.C. 2929.18(A)(3), not within section 2913.04 itself.
Penalty structure
The $15,000 figure is the maximum fine for a felony of the second degree, the ceiling that applies only to the worst tier (an elderly or disabled victim with a value or loss of $37,500 or more). Lower tiers cap the fine at $2,500 (felony of the fifth degree, the base offense), $5,000 (felony of the fourth degree), or $10,000 (felony of the third degree). The fine amounts themselves are set by the general felony sentencing statute, R.C. 2929.18, not by section 2913.04.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 15,000
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Section 2913.04 prohibits unauthorized use of property, of computer, cable and telecommunication property, and of two law-enforcement databases, and sets the penalties. It imposes no duty to create, keep, produce or review a log or record, and states no territorial clause.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Division (B) makes it unlawful for any person, in any manner and by any means, including but not limited to computer hacking, to knowingly gain access to, attempt to gain access to, or cause access to be gained to a computer, computer system, computer network, cable service, cable system, telecommunications device, telecommunications service, or information service without the consent of, or beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of, the owner or another person authorized to give consent.
"Gain access" is defined elsewhere in the chapter to include approaching, instructing, communicating with, storing data in, retrieving data from, or otherwise making use of any resources of a computer, computer system, or computer network, which reaches ordinary automated retrieval of a public page; no malicious intent, deceptive means, or fraudulent purpose is required for the base offense. The base violation of division (B) is a felony of the fifth degree regardless of value.
Two independent factors escalate the degree, and the higher of the two applicable results controls: committing the violation for the purpose of devising or executing a scheme to defraud, obtaining property or services by false pretenses, or committing another criminal offense raises it to a felony of the fourth degree where the value of the property or services or the loss is at least $7,500 and less than $150,000, and to a felony of the third degree at $150,000 or more; and the victim being an elderly person or a disabled adult raises it, independent of any fraud purpose, to a felony of the fourth degree at $1,000 to $7,500 in value or loss, a felony of the third degree at $7,500 to $37,500, and a felony of the second degree at $37,500 or more.
The provisions this entry describes came into force on different days.
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