Changing IP address to access public website ruled violation of US law

Changing your IP address or using proxy servers to access public websites you've been forbidden to visit is a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a judge ruled in a case involving Craigslist and 3taps.

The legal issue is similar to one in the Aaron Swartz case, in which there was debate over whether Swartz "had committed an unauthorized access under the CFAA when he changed his IP address to circumvent IP address blocking imposed by system administrators trying to keep Swartz off the network," law professor Orin Kerr wrote on the Volokh Conspiracy blog. The ruling in Craigslist v. 3taps is the first "directly addressing the issue," Kerr wrote. 3taps drew Craigslist's ire by aggregating and republishing its ads, so Craigslist sent a cease-and-desist letter prohibiting the company from doing so. Craigslist also blocked IP addresses associated with 3taps' systems.