Interception of E-Mail Raises Questions

[hightime]

BOSTON - In an online eavesdropping case with potentially profound implications, a federal appeals court ruled it was acceptable for a company that offered e-mail service to surreptitiously track its subscribers' messages.

A now-defunct online literary clearinghouse, Interloc Inc., made copies of the e-mails in 1998 so it could peruse messages sent to its subscribers by rival Amazon.com Inc. An Interloc executive was subsequently indicted on an illegal wiretapping charge.


An advocacy group said Tuesday's ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) opens the door to further interpretations of the federal Wiretap Act that could erode personal privacy rights.


"It puts all of our electronic communications in jeopardy — voice mail, e-mail, you name it," said Jerry Berman, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "I think it violates the letter and spirit of the statute."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040630/ap_on_hi_te/intercepted_e_mail_3

[Just Me]

1. Whoah, now. A federal appeals court ruled that this was okay?

Hmmmm. Did it rule it was okay to track emails from WITHIN the company? If so, I don't have a problem with that, at all. However, if the ruling included tracking all emails via the service it offers to the public,...that is entirely different. I'll have to take a looksee because I cannot imagine the court ruled so broadly as to essentially render the Wiretap Act meaningless.

[uptown ruler]

2. scary and getting more scary everyday...

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