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From: bill@green.UUCP (Bill Bogstad)
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: E-mail protected like U.S. Mail? was: Foothead...
Message-ID: <345@green.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Apr-87 10:21:56 EST
Article-I.D.: green.345
Posted: Thu Apr 23 10:21:56 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Apr-87 21:11:41 EST
References: <1128@cartan.Berkeley.EDU} <1065@epimass.UUCP> <5553@eddie.MIT.EDU> <493@gouldsd.UUCP> <1798@whuts.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@green.UUCP (Bill Bogstad)
Organization: JHU Biophysics Dept., Baltimore, MD
Lines: 35
Keywords: email law protection
Xref: mnetor news.misc:318 news.sysadmin:158

In article <1798@whuts.UUCP> tes@whuts.UUCP (STERKEL) writes:
>While I am not a lawyer, I attempt to keep up on computer law, 
>and even send current case law citations to legal types asking
>questions.  In addition, I have been known to attend computer
>law seminars.
>
>I guess I missed the "Federal Law" or cases that established the
>above protection.  May I recommend that we all not comment until
>Marcus provides us with some "meat", i.e. CFR citations, 
>Federal Court case citations, etc. to back up his statements.
>
>With the "meat" on the table, then we will have much to discuss.

[How soon we forget...]

	Try looking up the "Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986".
It has specific sections which appear to refer to electronic mail services.
There was quite a bit of discussion about it at the time in various news
groups.  As I recall there was some question about whether or not it
applied to only commercial systems, but it was definitely a gray area in
the law.  I have an on-line copy of one of the later revisions if you are
interested.  I don't think there were any significant changes after it.  I
didn't check though since I learned that it had passed and I didn't really
want to know how bad the final version was.  (If it isn't obvious, I was
opposed to some of the proposals.

				Bill
--
Bill Bogstad                              bogstad@hopkins-eecs-bravo.arpa
(301)338-8019                             seismo!mimsy!jhunix!green!bill
-- 

Bill Bogstad                              bogstad@hopkins-eecs-bravo.arpa
(301)338-8019                             seismo!mimsy!jhunix!green!bill
Moderator of mod.computers.ridge