Comment by preg_match

The CFAA is one of the most inconsistently applied laws. We basically only bust it out as a last resort to ruin someone’s life. Companies can de-facto write and distribute malware and nobody cares.

But, make no mistake. If you do the same and anger the government, they will use the CFAA to give you life in prison. It’s like Russian roulette, it’s completely random when they bring it down.