Unauthorised Access to Computer Material
Computer Misuse Act 1990, c. 18, ss. 1 and 17(5), (8)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not cause a computer to perform a function intended to secure access to a program or data, knowing that access is unauthorised because you are not entitled to control that kind of access and do not have the consent of someone who is.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
On summary conviction in England and Wales, imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both; on summary conviction in Scotland, imprisonment for up to 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both; on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both (s. 1(3)).
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 1 makes it an offence for a person to cause a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to a program or data, where that access is unauthorised and the person knows it is unauthorised. Section 17(5) defines access as unauthorised if the person is not themselves entitled to control access of that kind and does not have consent from someone who is; section 17(8) applies the same test, in materially the same words, to an act done in relation to a computer more generally.
Neither definition conditions unauthorised access on defeating a technical security measure. No reported UK case has been located establishing how section 1 applies to the automated collection of content from a public, unauthenticated website that imposes no access control.
When LexLint raises it
crawls_webtrains_models
Read the law
official statute text, Computer Misuse Act 1990, legislation.gov.uk