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N.Y. PEN Law § 156.50

This is the official text of N.Y. PEN Law § 156.50, part of New York’s Penal Law — defines crimes and punishments in New York.

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Offenses involving computers; defenses

Official statutory text

§ 156.50 Offenses involving computers; defenses.\n In any prosecution:\n 1. under section 156.05 or 156.10 of this article, it shall be a\ndefense that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that he had\nauthorization to use the computer;\n 2. under section 156.20, 156.25, 156.26 or 156.27 of this article it\nshall be a defense that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe\nthat he had the right to alter in any manner or destroy the computer\ndata or the computer program;\n 3. under section 156.29 or 156.30 of this article it shall be a\ndefense that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that he had\nthe right to copy, reproduce or duplicate in any manner the computer\ndata or the computer program.\n

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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