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Generated Timeline

This page lists legal and historical milestones in chronological order using typed date fields (decision_date, enactment_date, legislative_override_date, offense_date, charge_date, arrest_date, indictment_date, and event_date). Document publication and verification dates are shown at the bottom of individual pages. Do not edit this file manually.

Event count: 39

1976

  • Enactment: STAT-USC-107 — 17 U.S.C. § 107 is the U.S. fair use statute, limiting copyright owners' exclusive rights for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

1977

  • Enactment: STAT-IEEPA — The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701–1708, authorizes the President to regulate transactions and block property in which foreign countries or nationals have interests during declared national emergencies; OFAC administers related sanctions programs.

1984

  • Enactment: STAT-CFAA-1030 — The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, is the primary U.S. federal anti-hacking statute, originally enacted in 1984 and substantially amended in 1986, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2002, and 2008, which criminalizes unauthorized access to computers and has been widely criticized for vagueness and prosecutorial overreach.

1996

  • Enactment: STAT-SECTION-230 — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230), enacted in 1996, provides that internet platforms shall not be treated as publishers of user-generated content and protects good-faith content moderation, forming the legal foundation for the modern internet.

1996-01

  • Historical event: EVENT-ZIMMERMANN-PGP-INVESTIGATION — U.S. authorities investigated Phil Zimmermann for years over distribution of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption software; the Northern District of California U.S. Attorney declined prosecution and closed the investigation in January 1996.

1997-06-26

  • Decision: CASE-RENO-V-ACLU — Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), held that certain Communications Decency Act provisions restricting indecent and patently offensive Internet speech violated the First Amendment.

1998

  • Enactment: STAT-DMCA-512 — 17 U.S.C. § 512 is a United States copyright statute commonly associated with online service provider safe harbor provisions.

1999

  • Decision: CASE-BERNSTEIN-V-DOJ — Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999), held that software source code is protected speech under the First Amendment and that government regulations preventing its publication constituted an unconstitutional prior restraint.

2000

  • Decision: CASE-JUNGER-V-DALEY — Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000), held that computer source code is protected by the First Amendment because of its expressiveness in conveying ideas, reversing the district court's contrary finding on encryption source code and export restrictions.

2001

  • Decision: CASE-UNIVERSAL-V-CORLEY — Universal City Studios v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001), upheld a DMCA anti-circumvention injunction against distribution of DeCSS code while acknowledging that computer code is speech entitled to First Amendment scrutiny, applying intermediate scrutiny to content-neutral regulation of code's functional aspects.

2001-08-28

  • Indictment: CASE-US-V-SKLYAROV — Dmitry Sklyarov and Elcomsoft Co. Ltd. were indicted in 2001 under the DMCA for trafficking in ebook circumvention software; Sklyarov entered a deferred-prosecution agreement, and DOJ described the matter as the first DMCA criminal case.

2001-12-13

  • Decision: CASE-US-V-SKLYAROV — Dmitry Sklyarov and Elcomsoft Co. Ltd. were indicted in 2001 under the DMCA for trafficking in ebook circumvention software; Sklyarov entered a deferred-prosecution agreement, and DOJ described the matter as the first DMCA criminal case.

2007

  • Decision: CASE-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL — Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007), is an appellate decision addressing DMCA § 512 safe harbor requirements for online service providers.

2008-07-10

  • Legislative override: EVENT-FISA-AMENDMENTS-ACT-2008 — On July 10, 2008, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 became law, including protections shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits over assistance to government surveillance — a classic legislative override that ended the practical force of pending carrier suits.

2011-06-27

  • Decision: CASE-BROWN-V-ENTERTAINMENT-MERCHANTS — Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., 564 U.S. 786 (2011), held that video games qualify for First Amendment protection and struck down a California law restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

2015

  • Decision: CASE-LENZ-V-UNIVERSAL — Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 801 F.3d 1126 (9th Cir. 2015), held that copyright holders must consider fair use in good faith before sending DMCA takedown notifications under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c).

2017-06-19

  • Decision: CASE-PACKINGHAM-V-NC — Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017), held unanimously that a North Carolina law prohibiting registered sex offenders from accessing social media websites violated the First Amendment, establishing that the internet and social media are protected spaces for the exercise of free speech rights.

2018

  • Decision: CASE-CARPENTER-V-US — Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), held that the Government's acquisition of historical cell-site location records was a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant supported by probable cause in ordinary circumstances.

2019-05-20

  • Offense: CASE-CHATRIE-V-US — Chatrie v. United States, No. 25-112 (June 29, 2026), held that police conduct a Fourth Amendment search when they acquire an individual’s Google Location History data through a geofence warrant process, vacated the Fourth Circuit, and remanded warrant particularity/probable-cause questions.

2021

  • Decision: CASE-VAN-BUREN-V-US — Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021), interpreted the CFAA phrase exceeds authorized access narrowly in a gates-up-or-down case about database access.

2021-04-05

  • Decision: CASE-GOOGLE-V-ORACLE — Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. ___ (2021), held in a 6-2 decision that Google's copying of approximately 11,500 lines of Java API declaring code for use in Android constituted fair use under copyright law.

2022-05-06

  • Historical event: EVENT-OFAC-BLENDER-2022 — On May 6, 2022, OFAC designated virtual currency mixer Blender.io under E.O. 13694 — Treasury’s first sanctions action against a virtual currency mixer — citing laundering of proceeds linked to DPRK cyber activity.

2022-08

  • Arrest: CASE-NL-V-PERTSEV — East Brabant District Court judgment ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2024:2069 (May 14, 2024) convicted a Tornado Cash developer of money laundering and imposed a 64-month prison sentence; English judiciary news identifies the defendant as Alexey Pertsev.

2023-08-23

  • Arrest: CASE-US-V-STORM — United States v. Storm, No. 1:23-cr-00430 (S.D.N.Y.), is the federal criminal prosecution of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm; in August 2025 he was convicted of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.
  • Indictment: CASE-US-V-STORM — United States v. Storm, No. 1:23-cr-00430 (S.D.N.Y.), is the federal criminal prosecution of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm; in August 2025 he was convicted of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

2023-10-30

  • Decision: CASE-COIN-CENTER-V-YELLEN — Coin Center v. Yellen, No. 3:22-cv-20375 (N.D. Fla. Oct. 30, 2023), granted summary judgment to Treasury on OFAC’s Tornado Cash designation, treating Tornado Cash as an association with an interest in the designated smart-contract tool.

2024-05-14

  • Decision: CASE-NL-V-PERTSEV — East Brabant District Court judgment ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2024:2069 (May 14, 2024) convicted a Tornado Cash developer of money laundering and imposed a 64-month prison sentence; English judiciary news identifies the defendant as Alexey Pertsev.

2024-08-24

  • Arrest: PERSON-PAVEL-DUROV — Pavel Durov is the founder, owner, and CEO of Telegram; OIR documents Russian and French criminal proceedings alleging platform-related facilitation or moderation failures, including a July 2026 FSB charge and international wanted listing.

2024-08-28

  • Charge: PERSON-PAVEL-DUROV — Pavel Durov is the founder, owner, and CEO of Telegram; OIR documents Russian and French criminal proceedings alleging platform-related facilitation or moderation failures, including a July 2026 FSB charge and international wanted listing.

2024-11-26

  • Decision: CASE-VAN-LOON-V-TREASURY — Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury, No. 23-50669 (5th Cir. Nov. 26, 2024), held that Tornado Cash immutable smart contracts are not “property” under IEEPA and that OFAC exceeded its statutory authority by blocking them.

2025

  • Enactment: STAT-TX-APP-STORE-ACCOUNTABILITY — Texas SB 2420, the App Store Accountability Act, adds Business & Commerce Code Chapter 121 requiring app stores to verify user age categories, obtain parental consent for minor downloads and purchases, and requiring developers to age-rate apps; takes effect January 1, 2026 and has been the subject of active First Amendment litigation.

2025-01-24

  • Offense: CASE-US-V-TUNICK — United States v. Tunick, No. 1:25-cr-00499 (N.D. Ga.), is a pending federal prosecution charging Samuel Tunick under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a) for allegedly deleting digital contents of a Google Pixel phone during a January 24, 2025 CBP secondary inspection at Atlanta’s airport; public reporting links the wipe to GrapheneOS duress credentials.

2025-07-30

  • Decision: CASE-US-V-RODRIGUEZ — Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, co-founders of Samourai Wallet, pled guilty in S.D.N.Y. to conspiracy to operate a money transmitting business knowing it transmitted crime proceeds and were sentenced to five and four years in prison.

2025-08

  • Decision: CASE-US-V-STORM — United States v. Storm, No. 1:23-cr-00430 (S.D.N.Y.), is the federal criminal prosecution of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm; in August 2025 he was convicted of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

2025-10-13

  • Enactment: STAT-CA-DIGITAL-AGE-ASSURANCE-ACT — California’s Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043; Civ. Code Title 1.81.9) requires operating system providers to collect age at account setup and send age-bracket signals to apps, and requires developers to request those signals; effective January 1, 2026 and operative January 1, 2027.

2025-11-13

  • Indictment: CASE-US-V-TUNICK — United States v. Tunick, No. 1:25-cr-00499 (N.D. Ga.), is a pending federal prosecution charging Samuel Tunick under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a) for allegedly deleting digital contents of a Google Pixel phone during a January 24, 2025 CBP secondary inspection at Atlanta’s airport; public reporting links the wipe to GrapheneOS duress credentials.

2025-12-23

  • Decision: CASE-CCIA-V-PAXTON-SB2420 — Federal challenge to Texas SB 2420 in which the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction (Dec. 23, 2025), the Fifth Circuit stayed that injunction pending appeal (June 4, 2026), and the Supreme Court denied an emergency application to vacate the stay (July 2026), leaving the App Store Accountability Act enforceable while the appeal continues.

2026-06-29

  • Decision: CASE-CHATRIE-V-US — Chatrie v. United States, No. 25-112 (June 29, 2026), held that police conduct a Fourth Amendment search when they acquire an individual’s Google Location History data through a geofence warrant process, vacated the Fourth Circuit, and remanded warrant particularity/probable-cause questions.

2026-07-29

  • Charge: EVENT-FSB-DUROV-TELEGRAM-2026 — On July 29, 2026, Russia's FSB charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging Telegram failed to remove channels used to coordinate attacks and sabotage, and placed him on an international wanted list.