Photo: TheRealDavidFrancis /Flickr The Justice Department has decided not to ask the Supreme Court to review a controversial federal appeals court decision that said employees may not be prosecuted under a federal anti-hacking statute for simply violating their employer’s computer use policy. The 9-2 decision in April by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a blow to the Obama administration, which is invoking the same theory to prosecute alleged WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning. The case concerns the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act , which was passed in 1984 to enhance the government’s ability to prosecute hackers who accessed computers to steal information or to disrupt or destroy computer functionality. At least, that’s what the San Francisco-based appeals court said was the act’s purpose. The government, however, has interpreted the anti-hacking provisions to include activities such as violating a website’s terms of service or a company’s computer usage policy, a position the court ruled means “millions of unsuspecting individuals would find that they are engaging in criminal conduct.” The court said that violations of employee contract agreements and websites’ terms of service were better left to civil lawsuits. “Under the government’s proposed interpretation of the CFAA, posting for sale an item prohibited by Craigslist’s policy, or describing yourself as ‘tall, dark and handsome,’ when you are actually short and homely, will earn you a handsome orange jumpsuit,” Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for the majority, adding in a footnote that the government’s interpretation of the law opens employees up to be arrested, not merely fired, for playing Farmville at work

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DOJ Won’t Ask Supreme Court to Review Hacking Case