Friday, September 05, 2003

Court clamps down on e-mail searches
In a decision that buttresses electronic privacy rights, a federal appeals court has ruled that attorneys violate the law when they try to subpoena e-mail messages to which they are not entitled.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last week that a lawyer was acting unreasonably when sending a subpoena to an Internet service provider, NetGate, that sought "all copies of e-mails sent or received by anyone" at a company called Integrated Capital Associates--the opposing party in the litigation.

"The subpoena power is a substantial delegation of authority to private parties, and those who invoke it have a grave responsibility to ensure it is not abused," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel. The panel ruled that the attorney had violated two federal laws: the Stored Communications Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-1-0.html

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