[DMCA-Activists] EFF Defends Right to Read Public Web Pages Without Getting Sued

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: EFF: EFF Defends Right to Read Public Web Pages Without
Getting Sued
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:46:55 -0700
From: EFF Press <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Contact:

Kevin Bankston
   Staff Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   address@hidden
   +1 415 436-9333 x126

EFF Defends Right to Read Public Web Pages Without Getting Sued

Brief Supports Past Court Opponent DirecTV

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a
brief this week in support of one of its previous court
opponents, DirecTV, arguing that a federal appeals court should
throw out a lawsuit against the company for accessing a public
website.

DirecTV is being sued by Michael Snow, the publisher of an
anti-DirecTV website that contained warnings to DirecTV employees
that they  were not authorized to enter.  In its
friend-of-the-court brief to the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals, EFF argues that the federal Stored Communications Act,
on which Snow's suit relies, only protects websites that are
configured to be private.

"If you want to keep your website private, then you should
protect it with a password," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin
Bankston.  "The law doesn't allow web publishers to sue when
people they don't like visit their site.  Otherwise, any company
could publish terms of service forbidding competitors, consumer
watchdogs, journalists, or even government officials from
scrutinizing a public website." Under Snow's theory, not only
could such unauthorized visitors be sued, they could also be
prosecuted and sent to prison.

Snow is asking the appeals court to overturn the district court's
dismissal of his case.  EFF agrees with DirecTV that the case
should have been dismissed, but argues that the lower court's
reasoning for dismissal was flawed.

"The district court made the right decision but based on the
wrong reasons, threatening the legal protections for private web
communications," Bankston said.  "The appeals court needs to
clarify that although public websites aren't protected by federal
privacy laws, sites that are actually configured to be private
are fully covered."

EFF has opposed DirecTV in the past for its legal campaign
against "smart cards," and co-sponsors a website,
www.directvdefense.org, designed to help those who have been sued
by DirecTV.  However, as Bankston said, "When it comes to
protecting the rights of Internet users, EFF doesn't hold a
grudge.  We may oppose DirecTV in other cases, but here, it's
plainly on the correct side."

The US Internet Industry Association, whose membership includes
many web hosts that offer private web services, joined EFF on the
brief.

For the full text of the brief, see:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Snow_v_DirecTV/EFF_amicus.pdf

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_10.php#004036

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world.
Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry
and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF
is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most
linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/

     -end-

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