[e-privacy] [EFF] US v. Councilman - librai che spiano i propri clienti

[Andrea Glorioso]

Ciao a tutti.

Da EFFector del 20040910:

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* EFF Files Brief in Email Privacy Case

  Councilman Case Should Be Heard Before Full Court

  Boston, MA - Last  Friday, EFF submitted a friend-of-the-court brief
  in a case  that   will have a  profound effect   on the  privacy  of
  Internet communications.

  The brief argues  that  US v.  Councilman,  previously decided by  a
  panel of First Circuit judges, should be reheard by the entire First
  Circuit Court of Appeals.  In the  earlier panel decision, the court
  ruled that it  does not violate criminal  wiretap laws when an email
  service provider  monitors  the content of  users' incoming messages
  without their consent.

  The defendant in the case, Bradford  Councilman, is a bookseller who
  offered email service  to his customers.   Councilman configured the
  email  processing software  so  that all  incoming  email sent  from
  Amazon.com,  a competitor, was  secretly    copied and sent to   his
  personal email account before it arrived in the intended recipient's
  mailbox.  The court ruled  that this is  legal.  As the panel itself
  stated in the ruling,  "it may well be that  the protections  of the
  Wiretap Act have been eviscerated as technology advances."

  Co-authored   by Orin  Kerr      and Peter Swire,   law   professors
  specializing    in Internet privacy    issues, the  amicus brief  is
  co-signed by EFF, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), the
  Electronic   Privacy  Information  Center   (EPIC), and the American
  Library Association     (ALA).   Amici argue  that a    rehearing is
  necessary because the  Councilman decision  disrupts the traditional
  understanding of  Internet   surveillance laws, raising  significant
  constitutional questions under the Fourth Amendment.

  "This court decision has repercussions far  beyond a single criminal
  prosecution," said Kevin Bankston,   EFF attorney and Equal  Justice
  Works/Bruce  J.   Ennis  Fellow.  "The  panel   decision effectively
  rewrites  the field of    Internet  surveillance law in   ways  that
  Congress   never  intended.   If   private  service   providers like
  Councilman can avoid  the Wiretap Act's criminal prohibition against
  interception   by  a technicality  in the    way  the  messages  are
  transmitted, it follows  that  the government will  also be  able to
  monitor  our communications  without having  to  ask  a  judge for a
  wiretap   order.  If the   decision is  allowed to   stand,  it will
  eliminate the Wiretap Act  as the primary  curb against  private and
  government snooping on the Internet."

For this release:
<http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_09.php#001878>

Amicus brief in US v. Councilman:
<http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=239>
(EFF, PDF file)

Washington Post article: "Court Limits Privacy of Email 
Messages":
<http://www.eff.org/cgi/tiny?urlID=240>
(Registration unfortunately required.)

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Ciao,

--
Andrea Glorioso             sama at miu-ft.org         +39 333 820 5723
        .:: Media Innovation Unit - Firenze Tecnologia ::.
	      Conquering the world for fun and profit