Man found guilty under CFAA didn’t damage LA Times, lawyers say

Matthew Keys talks to reporters after he was sentenced in April 2016 to two years in prison, surrounded by his lawyers, including Mark Jaffe (far left). (credit: Cyrus Farivar)

SAN FRANCISCO-Defense attorneys forcefully argued Tuesday before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that their client-a journalist convicted under an anti-hacking law last year-did not actually damage a media website that was briefly altered.

So, the lawyers say, while their client, Matthew Keys, did access internal material at the Tribune Media Company without permission, he should not be convicted of two counts of "intentionally [causing] damage" as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act outlines.

"Essentially, what's happened here is the government charged unauthorized damage, and it spent most of its time putting on an unauthorized access case," Tor Ekeland, one of Keys' lawyers, said during the hearing before a panel of three judges.

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