So, this is the first time I read about your case. I couldn't help but think of Aaron Swartz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Swartz

Basically, he downloaded open access journals from an academic repository. But he did it by physically connecting a laptop to the MIT university network and hiding the device in a servicing space without authorization.

Downloading open access papers isn't an issue in and of itself. In fact, it's pointed out that Swartz wasn't prosecuted for theft or copyright violations. The charges mainly were founded on alleged fraud and breaking and entering.

https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/8637/90...

The law applies in Aaron's case was the CFAA. The same law under which you faced scrutiny.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Fraud_and_Abuse_Act
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030

Just like you, Aaron Swartz got into the sights of the Secret Service at the time. The difference between you and him is that Swartz was actually arrested, arraigned and finally indicted by a federal grand jury.

(The CFAA stipulates that the Secret Service has the authority to investigate you under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(d)(1) see: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030)

> the case is clear

On the contrary.

The big criticism on the CFAA is that its application has spilled over into tort law and contract law. It's a law which defines computer and wire fraud in incredibly broad terms and phrases. This leads to criminal convictions within a civil law context. The CFAA creates a up a massive potential for being made liable for daily, unassuming actions - e.g. sharing a password - transforming a misdemeanor into a felony really fast depending on the context / circumstances.

As a result, the CFAA is an example of a law where the bar / standards for prosecution are determined / tested / evaluated on a per-case basis through the judicial process.

It's also why it's so hard to get clear cut answers from the EFF or your lawyers. Sure, there's precedent, but it remains unclear how things would have panned out in your specific case since it never went to court.

In Aaron's case, it was later pointed out that MIT didn't even actively seek federal prosecution:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324809004578637...

> why I needed consent

That's the thing. Strictly speaking: it's a choice, not an obligation. Laws and moral values or principles aren't preemptive. They don't stop you from doing something anyway. Their purpose is to create a formal framework of consequences that tie into your behavior.

Liability then is the probability you're going to be held accountable in a court of law.

(In the same vain: copyright doesn't stop you from actually copying protected works. It only has carries weight if it actually gets enforced. That is, the rights holders decides to seek damages, and/or the state seeks to prosecute you. And even then, you really only face hard consequences - fines, damages, jail time - if a court rules in the plaintiff's favor.)

The CFAA specifically explicitly mentions the condition "without authorization" a grand total of 10 times when it defines violations under 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a).

All in all, when you entered the store, went to a machine and installed that program, paying attention that you didn't have to agree to any terms of service, you very much entered that grey, murky, muddled area of broad interpretation of the CFAA, contract and tort law.

Not having that explicit consent or authorization creates a liability: if you were spotted or caught, you'd potentially face consequences per the legal framework and its interpretation in a court of law.

... and that's exactly what happened to you.

Probably someone at the Apple store caught onto what you were doing, made an internal report which found its way to Apple's legal team. Corporate legal compliance provides a playbook and one of those steps involves notifying law enforcement and, ultimately, the Secret Service.

Unlike Aaron Swartz, you were lucky in that the authorities felt that there wasn't enough grounds to make a case against you and press formal charges before federal court. From their perspective, that's a cost / benefit trade off: it's just not worth spending time and resources pursuing legal action if the outcome is already tenuous from the outset.

> a lot of people here in the comments seem to believe

There's a difference between legal truth and moral truth.

From the point of view of the legal framework, all you did was expose yourself to several legal liabilities. The legal framework itself doesn't hold any opinions whether that's smart or dumb. You were lucky that there were no serious consequences beyond a visit by the Secret Service.

The public, however, look at your actions through a moral lens. They see someone who willingly exposed themselves to such liability, and members of the public can/will hold and voice personal opinions about what happened.

While you never went to court, there's a consensus that your behavior did cross a moral line. Put more succinctly: "Who in their right mind would do a guerilla style installation of a desktop application on Macbooks in the Apple store and assume there's no potential for serious legal consequences?"

That's value attribution akin to "Why would you decide to run a red light in downtown Manhattan, in front of dozens of witnesses, law enforcement camera's,... and run the risk of getting caught?"

People on here feel like you made a bad judgement call regardless of who you are, or the project in and off itself. And that's even perfectly compatible with how they feel about the CFAA, Apple, the U.S. Secret Service and so on.