> I know I can’t try and break into my neighbors house even if I have no intent of going inside and stealing once I break the lock.

They didn't break in. They found a key that their neighbor dropped and returned it.

> Is this legal?

Generally, yes (though ask a lawyer if you're going to do security work). Security researchers do occasionally get legal flak though, depending on which idiot they annoy by pointing out issues.

▲

otterley 2 hours ago | parent [-]

IAAL (not legal advice, consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction). You really do not want to pen-test a target without their permission. If you're identified as a culprit, the Feds will shove the CFAA so far up your ass you'll need a proctologist.

▲

wpasc 2 hours ago | parent [-]

as a lawyer, can you speculate as to why anthropic/openai aren't facing many or any consequences for their agents? I'm not asking in a "grab the pitchforks" way. more out of genuine curiosity as my uninformed recollection of the CFAA is as you describe it.

▲

otterley 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The 9th Circuit Court of appeals recently published this that is somewhat related (Amazon v. Perplexity): https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/26-144...

Look at pages 10-17 to see how the law is evolving here.

	▲	victor9000 23 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		In Perplexity's case everything is getting routed through the user's browser, so there is no server to server communication between Perplexity and Amazon, thus no CFAA unauthorized access was established. However, Anthropic and OpenAI did not use the pattern of routing through authorized parties, so I don't think this opinion gives them any cover.