A middle school assistant principal sued five students and their parents for creating fake social media accounts in his name.

Adam Matot, assistant principal at Judson Middle School in Oregon, charged the students and parents with "cyberbullying" after the fake accounts were used to post material, some of it obscene, which "caused his reputation to be diminished."  Matot was seeking relief under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") and for defamation of character.  However, the court recently disagreed with Matot's CFAA claim, saying it simply didn't hold up, even under the broad definitions of "unauthorized access."

Judge Michael McShane pointed to precedent that calls on the courts to construe criminal statutes narrowly so as not to unintentionally turn ordinary citizens into criminals, and he found the focus of the statute to apply to hacking rather than the "creation of sweeping internet-policing mandate."

The court also rejected plaintiff's attempt to bring the case under a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) claim noting, "Congress did not intend to target the misguided attempts at retribution by juvenile middle schools students against an assistant principal in enacting RICO."

In addition to seeking $5,000 in monetary damages, plus costs and attorneys fees, Matot was also seeking to find that defendants violated CFAA, that their conduct was reckless and willful, and that they be enjoined from using or accessing accounts on Twitter or Facebook for a reasonable period of time.

—Source: Techdirt.com