Abstract
As a result of both a significant increase in cybercrime and a growing concern about its economic and societal impact, the United States has enacted legislation aimed at curtailing a wide variety of cybercrimes at the state and federal levels. This chapter summarizes US legislation that has been modified or enacted over the past 30 years. The chapter focuses on cybercrimes that can be classified as computer hacking and malicious software; online fraud and identity theft; digital piracy and intellectual property theft; pornography; child sexual exploitation materials; sexting and revenge pornography; cyber harassment, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking; SPAM; and cyberterrorism. This chapter is neither meant to be exhaustive nor critical in nature. Instead, the chapter was written as a resource to provide an overview of the most relevant US legislation on cybercrime.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Library Association. (2019). The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Accessed online on 11/8/2019 at: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/cipa
Bocij, P. (2004). Cyberstalking: Harassment in the internet age and how to protect your family. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Brenner, S. W. (2011). Defining cybercrime: A review of federal and state law. In R. D. Clifford (Ed.), Cybercrime: The investigation, prosecution, and defense of a computer-related crime (3rd ed., pp. 15–104). Raleigh: Carolina Academic Press.
Children’s Bureau. (2019). Mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Accessed online on 11/8/2019 at: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/manda.pdf
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, 18 USC § 1030.
Conspiracy to Commit Offense or to Defraud United States, 18 USC § 371.
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, 15 USC § 7701–13.
Copyright Act of 1976, Pub L. No. 94–553, 90 Stat 2541 (Oct. 19, 1976), codified at various parts of Title 17 U.S. Code.
Curtis, G. (2012). The law of cybercrimes and their investigations. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Department of Justice. Prosecuting Computer Crimes. (2010). Computer crime and intellectual property section criminal division. Published by Office of Legal Education Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Accessed online on 9/18/2019 at: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/criminal-ccips/legacy/2015/01/14/ccmanual.pdf
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, 15 USC § 1681.
Federal Trade Commission. (2019). Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Accessed online on 11/8/2019 at: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/privacy-and-security/gramm-leach-bliley-act
Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Access Devices, 18 USC § 1029.
Fraud and Swindles, 18 USC § 1341.
Fraud by Wire, Radio, or Television, 18 USC § 1343.
Furnell, S. (2002). Cybercrime: Vandalizing the information society. London: Addison-Wesley.
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2018). State bullying laws. Cyberbullying Research Center. Accessed 11/8/2019 at: https://cyberbullying.org/Bullying-and-Cyberbullying-Laws.pdf
Holt, T. J., & Bossler, A. M. (2016). Cybercrime in progress: Theory and prevention of technology-enabled offenses. London: Routledge.
Holt, T. J., Bossler, A. M., & Seigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2018). Cybercrime and digital forensics: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998, 18 USC § 1028.
Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2008, 18 USC § 3663(b).
Interstate Communications, 18 USC § 875.
Krone, T. (2004). A typology of online child pornography offending. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 279, 1–6.
Lane, F. S. (2000). Obscene profits: The entrepreneurs of pornography in the cyber age. New York: Routledge.
Morphy, E. (2008). The Computer Fraud Act: Bending a law to fit a notorious case. E-Commerce Times, December 9, 2008. Accessed online on 11/8/2019 at: https://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/65424.html
National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL). (2019a). Computer crime statutes. Accessed online on 11/27/2019 at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/computer-hacking-and-unauthorized-access-laws.aspx
National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL). (2019b). Identity theft. Accessed online on 11/27/2019 at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/identity-theft-state-statutes.aspx
National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL). (2019c). Security breach notification laws. Accessed online on 11/27/2019 at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/security-breach-notification-laws.aspx
National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL). (2019d). Fighting revenge porn and ‘Sextortion.’ Accessed online on 11/27/2019 at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/fighting-revenge-porn-and-sextortion.aspx
National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL). (2019e). Cybersecurity legislation 2019. Accessed online on 11/27/209 at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/cybersecurity-legislation-2019.aspx
O’Connor, K., Drouin, M., Yergens, N., & Newsham, G. (2017). Sexting legislation in the United States and abroad: A call for uniformity. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 11, 218–245.
Obscene or Harassing Telephone Calls in the District of Columbia or in Interstate or Foreign Communications, 47 USC § 223.
Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2006). Bullies move beyond the schoolyard: A preliminary look at cyberbullying. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 4(2), 148–169.
Quinn, J. F., & Forsyth, C. J. (2013). Red light districts on blue screens: A typology for understanding the evolution of deviant communities on the internet. Deviant Behavior, 34, 579–585.
Stalking, 18 USC 2261A.
Sweeny, J. (2011). Do sexting prosecutions violate teenagers’ constitutional rights? San Diego Law Review, 48, 951–991.
Unlawful Access to Stored Communications, 18 USC § 2701.
US Department of Justice. (2018). Citizen’s guide to U.S. Federal law on obscenity. Accessed online on 11/8/2019 at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-obscenity
US Department of Justice. (2019a). 18 USC Section 1341 – Elements of Mail Fraud. Accessed online on 11/27/2019 at: https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-940-18-usc-section-1341-elements-mail-fraud
US Department of Justice. (2019b). Highlights of the USA Patriot Act. Accessed online 11/8/2019 at: https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
Wall, D. S. (2001). Cybercrimes and the internet. In D. S. Wall (Ed.), Crime and the internet (pp. 1–17). New York: Routledge.
Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA). (2019). U.S. Laws. Accessed 11/8/2019 at: https://www.haltabuse.org/resources/laws/index.shtml
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). (2019). Berne convention for the protection of literary and artistic works. Accessed 11/8/2019 at: https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/
Yar, M. (2013). Cybercrime and society (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bossler, A.M. (2020). Cybercrime Legislation in the United States. In: Holt, T., Bossler, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78440-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78440-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78439-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78440-3
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences