Court To Reconsider Decision On ISP Mail Snooping

thpr writes "In June, Slashdot reported that ISPs can read email (according to a decision by the 1st circuit court of appeals). In short, the court felt it was not a violation of U.S. wiretap laws. Last month, the Justice Department asked for the full court to reconsider the decision. C-Net now reports that the court will 'reconsider its June 29 decision'. Arguments are scheduled for Dec 8."

Comments

Kind of link not having curtains

[stecoop]

I would tend to agree with this ruling. I believe that an individual should protect her property as it's kind of like leaving a sofa on the curb not expecting it to be removed or like not having curtains on your windows and expecting people to not look in as the drive by. The property owner of the email should be protecting it via encryption or its there for anyone to read.

I like double rot-13; if it is encrypted and someone cracks it than I guess you should find a better encryption algorithm.

Re:Kind of link not having curtains

[garcia]

The property owner of the email should be protecting it via encryption or its there for anyone to read.

Laws like the ones are talking about will eventually cause the population to do exactly that but it's not exactly as if the criminals weren't doing that already.

You will be labelled a traitor if you protect yourself and [tinfoil warning] you could eventually be held against your will for crimes against the government for protecting your personal privacy [/tinfoil].

Remember that anyone who encrypts their email obviously has something to hide and doesn't support their government and their own freedom!

Re:Kind of link not having curtains

[stecoop]

Remember that anyone who encrypts their email obviously has something to hide and doesn't support their government and their own freedom!

There are so many sides to a coin - case in point you brought up a very good flip side.

But lets say that enough people started recognizing that email isn't *gasp* private and, visioning everyone knowing email isn't private; that all email (lets extend it to internet traffic) became encrypted. This ruling only helps the civil libertarian groups on getting the word out to protect the civil liberties at an individual level.

Well, if they want to snoop...

[Pig Hogger]

All they need is to declare that the FBI is an ISP... Voilà, problem solved!

There's an issue here?

[CSG_SurferDude]

There's an issue here?

I read my users' email all the time, to, uh, ummmmm, help tune my, um, spam filters.

Yeah, that's it, to tune my spam filters.

email should have the same standard

[SpamKu]

of privacy as phones.

why sould it be that once I use a computer and/or the internet I must see my rights go down the tubes?

Hopefully, this is part of the reason why the Court is reconsidering its decision

Read my mail

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm going to email myself the Goatse image 1000times/day from now on so whenever they read my email they get my opinions stated to them bluntly.

Re:Let me get this right

[kfg]

Wonder how the groupthink will justify this.

They wish to consolodate the power of surviellence to themselves, and themselves alone.

That way they can not only snoop on the people, but on the snoopers as well; and all without having to worry about being snooped on.

Pretty slick setup really, if they're allowed to pull it off.

KFG

Seems to me...

[xstonedogx]

...using the wire-tapping law seems like trying to fit an oblong peg into a round hole. Close, but no dice.

The solution here is either to encrypt your email or to create a new law specifically forbidding ISPs from reading your email.

I prefer the former method to the latter. Laws forbidding an ISP from reading your email don't protect your email. They can act as a deterrent, but first you have to find out it occured, and then you have to prosecute. And then your email has already been read.

Stored Communications Act?

[spiritraveller]

You can read the June opinion here.

You can read the order for an en banc rehearing here.

One of the questions they ask the parties to argue for the rehearing is "Whether the conduct at issue in this case could have been additionally, or alternatively, prosecuted under the Stored Communications Act?".

Hmmm, I wonder what the Stored Communications Act is? It seems the court might be worried that the SCA (whatever it is) already applies to email-snooping, so that the Wiretap Act should not apply.

Re:Why is ISP mail readding bad?

[AviLazar]

If the document was labeled confidential - yes. Poor security measures do not invalidate your right to privacy. Why?: One of the reasons for this is because some people can't afford high security measures, second security measures may fail, three security measures can be broken, and a few other reasons i cannot recall.
A great example I received from a law class I took (I am no legal expert, but my professor is) was a hypothetical situation: If I leave my car engine running, with the windows open and ten thousand dollars on the seat... Would someone who took the car and/or money be liable both criminal and civil courts? Yes.
Fast forward to computer: If I send a text email and at the top of the email it says "the following message is intended for John Schmoe ONLY", anyone reading it is in violation of privacy acts (unless they are authorized to do so by groups like the proper authorities, or contracts.)