Aaron's Law Act of 2015

Summary: Aaron's Law Act of 2015  Amends provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) prohibiting computer fraud to replace the phrase &quot;exceeds authorized access&quot; with &quot;access without authorization,&quot; which is defined as obtaining information on a protected computer that the accesser lacks authorization to obtain by knowingly circumventing one or more technological or physical measures that are designed to exclude or prevent unauthorized individuals from obtaining that information. Modifies CFAA penalty provisions to: (1) limit the imposition of enhanced penalties to subsequent offenses under such Act (currently, additional penalties are allowed if there is a conviction for another offense) and to criminal acts punishable under federal or state law by a term of imprisonment for more than one year; and (2) require the determination of the value of information for enhanced penalty purposes to be made by reference to fair market value.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Aaron's Law Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFYING THAT ``ACCESS WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION'' UNDER SECTION 
              1030 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, MEANS CIRCUMVENTION 
              OF TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIERS IN ORDER TO GAIN UNAUTHORIZED 
              ACCESS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1030(e)(6) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by--
            (1) striking ``exceeds authorized access'' and all that 
        follows; and
            (2) inserting the following: ```access without 
        authorization' means--
                    ``(A) to obtain information on a protected 
                computer;
                    ``(B) that the accesser lacks authorization to 
                obtain; and
                    ``(C) by knowingly circumventing one or more 
                technological or physical measures that are designed to 
                exclude or prevent unauthorized individuals from 
                obtaining that information;''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1030 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(10), by striking ``unauthorized 
        access, or exceeding authorized access, to a'' and inserting 
        ``access without authorization of a protected''; and
            (2) by striking ``exceeds authorized access'' each place it 
        appears.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATING REDUNDANCY.

    (a) Repeal.--Section 1030(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (4); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) as 
        paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1030 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(a)(6)'' each 
                place it appears and inserting ``(a)(5)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(4) or (a)(7)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(6)''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(4), or (a)(7)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(6)''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), in the matter 
                        preceding clause (i), by striking ``subsection 
                        (a)(5)(B)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                        (a)(4)(B)'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)(A)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)(A)'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)'';
                            (iv) in subparagraph (D)(i), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)(C)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)(C)'';
                            (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)(A)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)(A)'';
                            (vi) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)(A)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)(A)''; and
                            (vii) in subparagraph (G)(i), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a)(5)'' and inserting 
                        ``subsection (a)(4)''; and
            (2) in subsection (h), by striking ``subsection (a)(5)'' 
        and inserting ``subsection (a)(4)''.

SEC. 4. MAKING PENALTIES PROPORTIONAL TO CRIMES.

    (a) Section 1030(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking ``conviction for another'' and 
                inserting ``subsequent''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``such'' after ``attempt to 
                commit'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting after ``financial 
        gain'' the following: ``and the fair market value of the 
        information obtained exceeds $5,000'';
            (3) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``the offense was 
        committed'' and all that follows through the semicolon, and 
        inserting the following: ``the offense was committed in 
        furtherance of any criminal act in violation of the 
        Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State 
        punishable by a term of imprisonment greater than one year, 
        unless such criminal acts are prohibited by this section or 
        such State violation would be based solely on accessing 
        information without authorization;'';
            (4) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by inserting ``fair market'' 
        before ``value''; and
            (5) in subparagraph (C)--
                    (A) by striking ``conviction for another'' and 
                inserting ``subsequent''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``such'' after ``attempt to 
                commit''.