Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Online Privacy "Eviscerated" by First Circuit Decision

From: NEXTEL-1
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 14:05:50 -0400

Online Privacy "Eviscerated" by First Circuit Decision

Tuesday, June 29 2004 @ 08:00 PM

Contributed by: ByteEnable 

The First Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a grave blow to the privacy of 
Internet communications with its decision today in the case of U.S. v.
Councilman. 
The court held that it was not a violation of criminal wiretap laws for
the 
provider of an email service to monitor the content of users' incoming
messages 
without their consent. The defendant in the case is a seller of rare and
used 
books who offered email service to customers.

The defendant had configured the mail processing software so that all 
incoming email sent from Amazon.com, the defendant's competitor, was
copied and sent 
to the defendant's mailbox as well as to the intended recipient's. As
the 
court itself admitted, "it may well be that the protections of the
Wiretap Act 
have been eviscerated as technology advances."

"By interpreting the Wiretap Act's privacy protections very narrowly,
this 
court has effectively given Internet communications providers free rein
to 
invade the privacy of their users for any reason and at any time," says
Kevin 
Bankston, EFF attorney and Equal Justice Works fellow. "This decision
makes clear 
that the law has failed to adapt to the realities of Internet
communications 
and must be updated to protect online privacy."

Decision in U.S. v. Councilman (PDF file).

http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php?story=20040629200051526

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From: Rick Parrish <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 21:07:14 -0500

>Online Privacy "Eviscerated" by First Circuit Decision
This isn't that suprising.

"All calls, errr ... emails may be monitored for quality purposes."

Read your provider's terms of service!

-rick

 
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