Did the “News of the World” Phone Hacks Violate U.S. Criminal Law?

James Murdoch

...Computer Fraud and Abuse Act extends to computers outside the United States in most circumstances. Here’s the key statutory language: the term “protected computer” means a computer . . . which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;
Update: The Guardian reports that former NOTW editor Andy Coulson, who was forced to resign as Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman when the scandal deepened in January, has been told he will be arrested on Friday.

Faced with a rapidly snowballing phone-hacking scandal, parent company News Corp. has announced that it will shutter its News of the World newspaper, a longtime cash cow and Britain's top-selling Sunday newspaper. James Murdoch, head of the News International division that includes the company's U.K. papers, told staff that recently revealed actions by the paper — including the hacking of phones of murder victims and the families of deceased soldiers — were "inhuman."
The closing of the 168-year-old paper comes as News Corp. is seeking a politically loaded approval from government regulators over its purchase of the remainder of U.K. satellite broadcaster BSkyB.