Law / United States / Louisiana
Louisiana Computer Tampering, unauthorized access and exceeding authorization
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 access, or cause to be accessed, a Louisiana-connected computer, computer system, or computer network without the authorization of its owner, including access that intentionally exceeds the scope of authorization you were given.
- If a computer's owner has issued a confidential or proprietary access code, do not use a code issued to someone else; doing so creates a rebuttable presumption that your access was unauthorized or exceeded authorization.
- Copying or otherwise obtaining a program or data without the owner's authorization is itself a violation, separate from damaging or destroying anything; a more severe penalty tier applies where the conduct damages, destroys, or is intended to disrupt vital state, local, or utility services.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
A misdemeanor (fine up to $500, imprisonment up to six months, or both) for unauthorized access or copying alone; a felony (fine up to $10,000, imprisonment with or without hard labor up to five years, or both) where the conduct damages or destroys a computer or its data; and an enhanced felony (fine up to $10,000, imprisonment at hard labor up to fifteen years, or both) where the damage or destruction is intended to disrupt vital state, parish, municipal, or utility services, or to cause death or great bodily harm.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Access restriction
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Computer tampering under R.S. 14:73.7 is the intentional, knowing commission, without the authorization of the owner of a computer, of accessing or causing to be accessed a computer or any part of it, copying or otherwise obtaining a program or data, damaging or destroying a computer or its data, or introducing electronic information with the intent to damage or destroy.
Actions taken without authorization expressly include actions that intentionally exceed the limits of authorization, and using a confidential or proprietary access code that was not issued to the person creates a rebuttable presumption that the access was unauthorized or exceeded authorization.
Penalties are tiered: access or copying alone (paragraphs (A)(1) and (2)) is punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both; damage or destruction (paragraphs (A)(3) and (4)) by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisonment with or without hard labor for not more than five years, or both; and damage or destruction intended to disrupt vital state, local, or utility services, or to cause death or great bodily harm, by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisonment at hard labor for not more than fifteen years, or both.
Enacted by Acts 2001, No. 829, section 1.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
official Louisiana Revised Statutes text, Louisiana State Legislature