Yahoo Suit Cites Privacy, Free Speech Violations
A federal lawsuit filed in California against Web portal Yahoo Inc. could establish important protections for Internet privacy and anonymity, said a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
The lawsuit was brought against Yahoo by a user of the service provider's financial message boards, and challenges the company's practice of disclosing personal user information to third parties without prior notice to the user, the statement said.
Privacy and free speech advocates have criticized Yahoo's policy on grounds that Web users have a right to communicate anonymously. The statement alleged that over the past year, Yahoo has been inundated with subpoenas issued by companies seeking to identify individuals anonymously posting information critical of the firms and their executives.
The privacy groups stated that without notifying the targeted users, and without assessing the validity of the legal claims in the subpoenas, Yahoo systematically discloses such information as users' names, e-mail addresses and Internet protocol addresses, and asserted that Yahoo is unique among major online companies in its refusal to notify users of subpoenas and provide them with an opportunity to challenge information requests.
ACLU said it favors at least two legal protections for anonymous chatters; that any complaint filed against an unknown defendant include specifics of the allegedly objectionable postings; and that judges not allow lawyers to issue subpoenas without requiring that the Internet service provider notify the potential defendant that someone is seeking personal information.
According to EPIC General Counsel, David L. Sobel, "Online anonymity plays a critical role in fostering free expression on the Internet, and has clearly contributed to the popularity of the medium. The US Supreme Court has ruled that anonymity is a constitutional right, but practices such as those of Yahoo may make that right illusory online."
The suit filed in US District Court in Los Angeles was brought by "Aquacool_2000," a pseudonymous Yahoo user whose personal information was allegedly disclosed to AnswerThink Consulting Group, Inc., a publicly held company, the joint statement said.
Further information on the legal action can be found at http://www.epic.org.
Reported By Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com.