Why are you divorcing actions from context and circumstance? Those are how we determine the seriousness of a crime and the legal repercussions of it.
For example, what is the punishment for crashing a car? Well, it depends on the context and circumstances. Sometimes there is no punishment. But what if the crash occurred due to being intoxicated? What if the crash was into another car? What if people died or were seriously injured in the crash?
It's not as though "hacking", "unauthorized access", and "web sites" are each monolithic things for which the seriousness of an act is independent of context and circumstances. There are just as many different levels of seriousness when it comes to the online world as there are in the real world. What are the consequences for property trespass in the physical world, for example? Well, it depends entirely on context and circumstances. If someone merely wandered into another person's land in order to pick berries or something that is very much different than, say, breaking and entering in order to commit robbery, for example.
Exactly, the beauty of the law is that almost always, the outcome is decided on a case to case basis.
It used to be less case-to-case when there were mandatory minimums. These were basically algorithmic processes to output a time range for imprisonment during sentencing. Judges had to abide by these sentencing tables. Since then, they have been abolished and judges are now empowered to make the decision themselves based on the facts of the case.
There are situations in which the outcome is not decided case-to-case. These situations are called "strict-liability" where if you commit a violation, you are punished no matter what. Thankfully, these aren't crimes. Usually, it's if you double park, you're getting a ticket. It doesn't matter whether you had the intent.
For example, what is the punishment for crashing a car? Well, it depends on the context and circumstances. Sometimes there is no punishment. But what if the crash occurred due to being intoxicated? What if the crash was into another car? What if people died or were seriously injured in the crash?
It's not as though "hacking", "unauthorized access", and "web sites" are each monolithic things for which the seriousness of an act is independent of context and circumstances. There are just as many different levels of seriousness when it comes to the online world as there are in the real world. What are the consequences for property trespass in the physical world, for example? Well, it depends entirely on context and circumstances. If someone merely wandered into another person's land in order to pick berries or something that is very much different than, say, breaking and entering in order to commit robbery, for example.