Law / United States / 
Virginia
Virginia Computer Trespass, malicious intent or deceptive means requirement
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
- Audit expectation
- none
What it requires
- Ordinary, non-disruptive automated access to a Virginia-connected public page does not by itself violate this statute; it requires malicious intent or intentionally deceptive means, plus removing, disabling, altering, or damaging data, programs, software, or operation.
- Intentionally deceptive circumvention of a technical barrier to disable or alter data or programs squarely fits this statute's elements.
- This statute does not override or displace an ordinary contract or license governing your access to a Virginia-connected computer service; ToS enforcement is a separate, civil track.
- Do not, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, install or cause to be installed, or collect information through, computer software that records all or a majority of the keystrokes made on the computer of another (Va. Code Ann. section 18.2-152.4(A)(8)).
- Do not, with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, install or cause to be installed on the computer of another computer software for the purpose of taking control of that computer so that it can cause damage to another computer, or of disabling or disrupting the ability of the computer to share or transmit instructions or data to other computers or to any related computer equipment or devices (Va. Code Ann. section 18.2-152.4(A)(9)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
Who enforces it
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does "intentionally deceptive means", such as a changed user agent or a rotated IP address, satisfy the intent element of Virginia Code section 18.2-152.4(A) for a person who makes "an unauthorized copy" of data from a public page under subdivision 6?
- What makes a copy of computer data "unauthorized" under Virginia Code section 18.2-152.4(A)(6) when the owner serves the page holding the data to the public?
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Section 18.2-152.4 makes it unlawful, with malicious intent or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, to remove, disable, alter or copy computer data, cause a malfunction, install software to take control of a computer, or install or collect information through keystroke-recording software on another's computer. It imposes no duty to create, keep, produce or review a log or record on the person it reaches; the keystroke-recording clause in subdivision A 8 describes conduct that is the offence, not a record the person must keep. The section states no territorial clause, so no hook is recorded.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
Section 18.2-152.4(A) makes it unlawful for any person, with malicious intent or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, to remove, disable, alter, damage, or otherwise interfere with computer data, programs, software, or operation.
The section applies to a person who acts with malicious intent, or through intentionally deceptive means and without authority, so ordinary unauthenticated, non-deceptive, non-malicious automated access to a public page that performs none of the listed disruptive acts does not fit the statute's elements at all, regardless of authorization; no Virginia case law was found applying it to a scraping or automated-collection fact pattern specifically.
Subsection (C) expressly states the statute is not to be construed to interfere with or prohibit terms or conditions in a contract or license related to computers or computer services, preserving ordinary contract law as the separate track for ToS enforcement; no Virginia case addresses browsewrap versus clickwrap for a scraping dispute specifically. No day on which the section came into force has been located.
Among the acts subsection A bars, subdivision A 8 lists installing or causing to be installed, or collecting information through, computer software that records all or a majority of the keystrokes made on the computer of another.
Among the acts subsection A bars, subdivision A 9 lists installing or causing to be installed on the computer of another computer software for the purpose of taking control of that computer so that it can cause damage to another computer, or disabling or disrupting the ability of the computer to share or transmit instructions or data to other computers or to related computer equipment or devices. If a person violates subdivision A 8 with malicious intent, the offense is a Class 6 felony.
The section is not to be construed to prohibit the monitoring of the computer usage of, the otherwise lawful copying of data of, or the denial of computer or Internet access to a minor by a parent or legal guardian of the minor.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app crawls the web.
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