Is Publishing Private Email Illegal and what can you do to stop it?
Posted: Monday, September 28, 2009
by LeahG Artist
Cartoon & Illustration Services
I have recently read a thread on a forum where a forum member posted the entire contents of a private email she'd received from someone she had done business with. As soon as I read this thread I said to myself:
" Never do business with her!!"
All the warning lights went on. Imagine a business associate behaving so unprofessionally as to publish private correspondence?
What has cyber space become?
It should be the law of the land and understood by all that emails are by their very nature private and not for publication or publishing on public boards.
I aired my disgust when I saw the post and unbelievably received very little support.
Was that due to fear of retribution by the forum thread starter or an indication of apathy to such matters?
The forum in question doesn't allow private forum messages between members to be made public and yet allows this. Presumably this means that they respect the privacy of members messages but not that of none members. This is rather sad and short sighted as todays none member could be tomorrows fully paid up member!
I raised the issue of legalities on the forum. I at first assumed the poster could be sued for publishing private emails but I am not sure this is correct.
Is publishing private emails illegal?
I would have thought that publishing private emails is illegal or at least covered by some form of Internet law. It might be the case that publishing private emails is covered under copyright laws, but I am no expert!
Check out this useful forum thread here on the details.
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum44/1500.htm
This forum thread (linked above) indicates that the email author has copyright and so their emails cannot be published without their permission.
For a more detailed look at the legal issues surrounding publishing emails or even forwarding emails without the consent of the original author visit this law site here .
Meanwhile it also might be the case that Internet Service Providers prohibit the publication of private emails as per their terms of service. They take violations of their terms of service very seriously and can withdraw service from anyone who breaches their code of conduct.
It is always worth checking your service providers terms of service to see if your emails are protected by copyright and if so, how you can report people publishing your emails online, to your service provider.
The last word
Whatever the law, please don't air your dirty laundry in public and keep your whingeing, whining, bitching to your close pals and family who you can trust not to forward your rants to the people concerned.
But as we know that is how gossip starts!
It appears the Internet is no different. Welcome to cyber space!
" Never do business with her!!"
All the warning lights went on. Imagine a business associate behaving so unprofessionally as to publish private correspondence?
It should be the law of the land and understood by all that emails are by their very nature private and not for publication or publishing on public boards.
I aired my disgust when I saw the post and unbelievably received very little support.
Was that due to fear of retribution by the forum thread starter or an indication of apathy to such matters?
The forum in question doesn't allow private forum messages between members to be made public and yet allows this. Presumably this means that they respect the privacy of members messages but not that of none members. This is rather sad and short sighted as todays none member could be tomorrows fully paid up member!
I raised the issue of legalities on the forum. I at first assumed the poster could be sued for publishing private emails but I am not sure this is correct.
Is publishing private emails illegal?
I would have thought that publishing private emails is illegal or at least covered by some form of Internet law. It might be the case that publishing private emails is covered under copyright laws, but I am no expert!
Check out this useful forum thread here on the details.
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum44/1500.htm
This forum thread (linked above) indicates that the email author has copyright and so their emails cannot be published without their permission.
For a more detailed look at the legal issues surrounding publishing emails or even forwarding emails without the consent of the original author visit this law site here .
Meanwhile it also might be the case that Internet Service Providers prohibit the publication of private emails as per their terms of service. They take violations of their terms of service very seriously and can withdraw service from anyone who breaches their code of conduct.
It is always worth checking your service providers terms of service to see if your emails are protected by copyright and if so, how you can report people publishing your emails online, to your service provider.
The last word
Whatever the law, please don't air your dirty laundry in public and keep your whingeing, whining, bitching to your close pals and family who you can trust not to forward your rants to the people concerned.
But as we know that is how gossip starts!
It appears the Internet is no different. Welcome to cyber space!
LeahG Artist and Designer
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illsutrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future. Presently she is creating cartoon and cartoon mascots for business clients.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illsutrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future. Presently she is creating cartoon and cartoon mascots for business clients.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Interesting point, Leah. I saw this thread too. This is basically why SearchWarp doesn't allow 3rd party conversations, such as from and email, to be posted as part of an article.Most forums don't allow it which is why this forums tolerance surprised me.I agree with Bruce. He has helped me a couple of times with the third party print. One thing for sure, if you want your email private...Do not email, call. Somethings are common sense...smile...Agreed, the phone is your friend after all!
I agree with you and your frustration. Lately, in spite of all of the firewall protections and spam-filters, I feel every time I'm online I'm really in Vegas rolling the dice since I never know for sure who is seeing what. Emails and addresses should be private, period.Agreed, meanwhile the upside of this latest forum drama is that I have observed a gap in the market in terms of good information re what you can and cannot do on the Internet and how to deal with offenders, so I am researching the topic and might (a big might) have a useful source to direct people to who are concerned about their privacy being violated on The Internet. Watch this space!
This is troubling to me. I am glad that you have it in the open so that people will know. Thanks Leah for this. Looking forward to reading more about this issue in your column. Have a wonderful day! ~Nenita~
Thank you for another informative article.
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