Law / United States / Michigan
Fraudulent Access to Computers, Computer Systems, and Computer Networks Act
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In force since 27 March 1980.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not access, or cause access to, a computer, computer system, or computer network without authorization or by exceeding authorization granted, to acquire, alter, damage, delete, or destroy data or property, or to use the system's services (MCL 752.795).
- Do not access or cause access to a computer, computer system, or computer network to devise or execute a scheme to defraud or to obtain money, property, or a service by false pretense (MCL 752.794).
- A public, unauthenticated page or system is not, by itself, evidence that access was authorized: Michigan's rebuttable presumption of unauthorized access is overcome only by showing written or oral permission, a pre-programmed message identifying the system as public domain that displayed before access, or that no access-control procedure had to be bypassed (MCL 752.795(6)).
- Do not use a computer, computer system, or computer network to commit, attempt, conspire to commit, or solicit another person to commit a crime (MCL 752.796).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
A violation of the fraud-scheme prohibition (MCL 752.794) ranges from a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days or a $500 fine (or 3 times the aggregate amount, whichever is greater) at the lowest tier, to a felony punishable by up to 10 years or 3 times the aggregate amount at the highest tier, keyed to the aggregate amount involved and prior convictions. A violation of the unauthorized-access prohibition (MCL 752.795) is a felony punishable by up to 5 years or a $10,000 fine, or up to 10 years or a $50,000 fine with a prior conviction. A violation of the commit-a-crime prohibition (MCL 752.796) is tiered to the maximum term of imprisonment for the underlying offense, from a 1-year misdemeanor up to a 20-year felony.
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.
Act 53 of 1979 prohibits intentionally accessing or causing access to a computer, computer system, or computer network to devise or execute a fraud scheme, or to obtain money, property, or a service by false pretense (MCL 752.794).
Separately, MCL 752.795 prohibits intentionally accessing, or causing access to, a computer, computer system, or computer network without authorization or by exceeding valid authorization, to acquire, alter, damage, delete, or destroy property or to use its services, and prohibits planting instructions or a program intended to do the same.
Michigan Act 53 also creates a rebuttable presumption that access was unauthorized, which is rebutted by showing written or oral permission was granted, that the accessed system displayed a pre-programmed message a reasonable person would believe identified it as within the public domain, or that access did not require bypassing an access-control procedure.
MCL 752.796 separately prohibits using a computer, computer system, or computer network to commit, attempt, conspire to commit, or solicit another to commit a crime.
Penalties escalate with the aggregate value involved or the severity of the underlying crime: a violation of the fraud-scheme prohibition ranges from a misdemeanor (93 days, $500, or 3 times the aggregate amount) to a felony (10 years, or 3 times the aggregate amount) as the aggregate loss or prior-conviction count rises; a violation of the unauthorized-access prohibition is a felony punishable by up to 5 years or a $10,000 fine, rising to 10 years or $50,000 with a prior conviction; and a violation of the commit-a-crime prohibition is tiered to the maximum term of the underlying offense, from a 1-year misdemeanor up to a 20-year felony.
When LexLint raises it
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