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Appeals Circuit Ruling: ISPs Can Read E-Mail

Posted by timothy on from the odd-distinctions dept.

leviramsey writes "The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (covering Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island) has ruled that e-mail providers are not violating the law by reading users' e-mail without the user's consent. The decision finds that the Wiretap Act does not cover interception of communications where the communications are being stored, not transmitted. Perhaps OSDN should send the defendant, accused in 2001 of reading users emails in order to find out what they were interested in purchasing from Amazon, a T-shirt from ThinkGeek?"

15 of 527 comments (clear)

  1. I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are people that don't run their own mail servers? Well, I suppose that might change now.

  2. oh no! by 2057 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh god now they will know about my massive addiction to penis enlargers! seriously i don't use my isp account for anything important if they wanna know about penis enlarging treatments go fer it.

    --
    For The Best Jazz/Hip-hop fusion > COlD DUCK
  3. Fortunatly... by Mind+Booster+Noori · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fortunatly...

    1) I'm not in USA;
    2) I use gpg;
    3) I'm wearing that t-shirt.

    This is just as wrong as stupid: makes me remember how 2600 lost in court making links to illegal stuff illegal, when, after, others won in the same court prooving linking is just linking, not illegal (good for Google :-))

    It's frustrating when we clearly see that the laws are just bendable...

    --
    Mind Booster Noori
  4. All my future emails by grunt107 · · Score: 2, Funny

    will be using Ray Romano's encryption scheme:

    I ehat het su ourtc fo ppealsa!!

    It's time to start skimming the gene pool

  5. Excellent by Quasar1999 · · Score: 3, Funny

    And to think I used to read all the cute girls emails at school when I was a temp sysadmin... it was all legal! w00t... I wonder if the extortion I did using the information I gleaned from their emails was equally as legal... oh well, I guess I'll never know... besides, how else is a geek supposed to get action in highschool? :P

    --

    ---
    Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
    1. Re:Excellent by cerberusss · · Score: 2, Funny

      We just read their mail too. It seems you need the penis enlargement that is commonly referred to in other threads here.

      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
  6. No problem by nizo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Simply include a picture of the goatse guy or tubgirl in every email and they will be sorry they ever read it.

    --
    I Am My Own Worst Enemy
  7. My Secrets are out. by cbovasso · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now my ISP will know I have a small penis, credit card debt, hair loss and can't function sexually.

    Chris.

    --
    I ask for a car and I get a computer. How's about that for being born under a bad .sig?
  8. Re:Two words by pilgrim23 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think this is absolutely the ISP (or admin's) right to read whatever they need to in a customer's email to better provide service and further the casue of communication..
    -signed Apeals Court Sysadmin

    PS : Justice Smith: Zelda's email had some tech difficulties getting through, but what she said was:
    She couldn't get the chocolate stains out of her purple tutu so she will have to wear the red one for the usual Thursday session. be sure to wear your fishnets and don't forget the whips.

    --
    - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
  9. ISPs can read e-mail? Finally. by Random+BedHead+Ed · · Score: 5, Funny

    ISPs can read e-mail? Finally. Now maybe someone at an ISP will reply to the several dozen "One of your customers is sending me spam" messages. It's about time ISPs got around to reading e-mail.

    Now to read the article ...

  10. I'm so patriotic, by gillbates · · Score: 3, Funny

    I feel like starting an ISP and offering free email accounts to congressmen, judges, FBI agents, etc...

    The time difference between an embarrassing email leak and legislation outlawing reading another's email is left as an exercise for the reader....

    --
    The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
  11. good luck! by glwtta · · Score: 2, Funny

    Judging by my Yahoo inbox, all they will get from this is the world's most gigantic penis.

    --
    sic transit gloria mundi
  12. Re:Two words by DroppedPacket · · Score: 2, Funny
    WHY? WHY? Because next they start listening to your phone...

    Dude, they are already listening on your phone. What bugs me is they keep listening in on my mind. And I've been hearing some crosschat from their thoughts too. It's really scary...

    --
    I am not a resource! I am a free man!
  13. Fun for the ISPs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    This sounds *FUN* for the ISPs.

    * New revenue opportunities in insider trading - lots of people send work email through an ISP - a sales guy going "I just got a big deal" would be interesting.
    * New revenue opportunities in blackmail - threatening to expose an affair or a drug buy
    * New revenue opportunities in spam - so you trusted the Nigerian General, here's one from Ethiopia.
    * New revenue opportunites through targetd marketing - so your mom has cancer, time to send the miracle-cure ads.
    * New stalking opportunities - gee, that customer sounds hot in her instant messages. wonder where she's partying this weekend.

  14. Re:Two words by Bazzargh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thank you for listening. I needed to get that off my chest. I'm just sick and tired of dickheads like the parent being the standard by which humanity is judged.

    Earthling compassion surprise Morvo. Morvo will spare your puny world.