Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Paul Jones <pjones AT metalab.unc.edu>]

http://www.aclu.org/news/2000/n051100a.html (ACLU press release)
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/privacy/ (yahoo! privacy policy)
ACLU side of the story follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 11, 2000 

       NEW YORK--A federal lawsuit filed today in California could
establish important protections for Internet privacy and anonymity,
according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy
Information Center (EPIC).

       The suit, filed against Yahoo! by a user of the service's popular
financial message boards, challenges the company's practice of disclosing
a user's personal information to third parties without prior notice to the
user.

       Privacy and free speech advocates, including EPIC and the ACLU,
have criticized Yahoo!'s policy on the ground that Internet users have a
right to communicate anonymously and usually do so for valid reasons.

       Over the past year, Yahoo! has been inundated with subpoenas issued
by companies seeking the identities of individuals anonymously posting
information critical of the firms and their executives.

       "The right to anonymous speech should not be breached so easily,"
said Chris Hansen, a national ACLU lawyer who specializes in Internet
speech.

       Without notifying the targeted users, and without assessing the
validity of the legal claims underlying the subpoenas, Yahoo!
systematically discloses identifying information such as users' names,
e-mail addresses and Internet protocol addresses. Yahoo! is unique among
major online companies in its refusal to notify its users of such
subpoenas and provide them with an opportunity to challenge the
information requests.

       Hansen said that the ACLU favors at least two legal protections for
anonymous chatters. "Any complaint filed in court against an unknown
Internet defendant should include specifics of the allegedly objectionable
postings," he said.

       "Also, a judge should not allow a lawyer to issue subpoenas in
these cases without requiring that the Internet service provider notify
the potential defendant that someone is seeking information about him and
giving him an opportunity to enter court to protect his anonymity."

       According to David L. Sobel, EPIC's General Counsel, "online
anonymity plays a critical role in fostering free expression on the
Internet, and has clearly contributed to the popularity of the medium."

       "The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that anonymity is a
constitutional right, but practices such as those of Yahoo! may make that
right illusory online," he added.

       The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in Los
Angeles by "Aquacool_2000," a pseudonymous Yahoo! user whose personal
information was disclosed to AnswerThink Consulting Group, Inc., a
publicly held company.

       A copy of the lawsuit (in PDF) is available at:
http://www.epic.org/anonymity/aquacool_complaint.pdf

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                             Paul Jones
   "We must protect our precious bodily fluids!" General Jack D Ripper
http://MetaLab.unc.edu/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As SunSITE.unc.edu
  pjones AT MetaLab.unc.edu   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071 
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