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47 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
47 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
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Reprinted from: Compuserve's Online Today
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FEDERAL PRIVACY SUIT AGAINST BBS OPERATOR (March 26)
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An electronic bulletin board system user has filed a $112,000 lawsuit
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against a BBS and its system operator claiming that the sysop did not properly
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safeguard private electronic mail. The lawsuit could prove to be a landmark
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since a court ruling would be the first one handed down under the federal
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Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. The ECPA mandates privacy
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protection of electronic communications, including the electronic mail found
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on commercial services and bulletin board systems.
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Linda Thompson filed a pro se complaint in the US District Court for the
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Southern District of Indiana. The civil action alleges that Bob Predaina,
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doing business as the Professional's Choice Bulletin Board, violated federal
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or Indiana state law on 10 counts.
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According to the complaint obtained by Online Today, during December of 1987,
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Predaina allowed others to access and view the contents of all electronic
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communications in a private message portion of the subscription BBS.
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Previously deleted private messages were also restored so that others could
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read them. Apparently, Thompson`s private e-mail was among the messages made
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available to others.
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Again, in January, 1988, the sysop "intentionally or recklessly intercepted
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and restored to the public portion of the board," a private message of
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Thompson's that she had previously deleted. In subsequent action, the sysop
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denied Thompson access to the board even though she had paid one year
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subscription to the BBS. When Thompson requested that the sysop refrain from
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actions that "were contrary to the law," Predaina refused.
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The last two counts of the complaint could be the most damaging and state
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that on January 6, the sysop "intentionally, maliciously or with reckless
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disregard for the truth, made statements which on their face are damaging to
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the professional and personal reputation of [Thompson] in public and to another
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person, subjecting the Petitioner to humiliation, personal anguish and
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ridicule." In the suit, Predaina is charged with making similar statements in
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the form of publicly posted BBS messages.
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Predaina did not respond to phone calls from Online Today for a reaction to
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the lawsuit. However, callers to Predaina's BBS are greeted with a public
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apology to Thompson.
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"Generally sysops are good at policing themselves and their boards," Thompson
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told Online Today. "The reason for the lawsuit was that there apparently was
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going to be no resolution between [Predaina and myself]. I think that if you
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have a board that has a facility for private mail, you have a right to expect
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that private mail stays private and is not spread all over."
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--James Moran
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