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I have read a few comments on this subject, but felt it would be
prudent to ask here before acting. I would consult an attorney as
well, but don't want to bother if there is a clear answer against such
action (from a legal standpoint).
Here is the deal:
I live in Northern Iowa in case this matters (and could travel to a
nearby adjoining state if that would be legal elsewhere).
I previously was given the user name and password of an email account
of a person whom was a friend at the time, let's call him Angelo. The
email information was given to me years ago in order to check the
emails for the person while he was out of the country for a few
weeks.This sounds silly today, given connectivity options available to
us now, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do in order
to ensure that the person would not miss an important communication.
An acquaintance of this person, I'll call Sal, has a personal beef
with me due to a conflict that cause him to be fired from his job. He
blames me, and obviously wants to get back at me, as the conflict that
I exposed caused him sever financial consequences, marriage
consequences, and loss of his career. Sal has apparently been
emailing Angelo and relaying untrue rumors about me in order to get
Angelo upset at me. I have had some initial segments of these emails
forwarded to me from Angelo, along with threats and such. As time has
progressed, it appears that the two of them are working to discredit
me, and possibly have me arrested for something that I have not done.
I don't worry so much about being prosecuted for anything, but the
arrest would cause me credibility issues and most likely cause me to
lose my job or at least lose favor with those who lead my
organization. I know this because of threats, things others have told
me that they've heard from the two of them, and various observations.
I have been informed that they also plan to watch me, and exact some
sort of revenge on me when I least expect it (I assume a physical
revenge of sorts). I believe this threat to be real, but have no
first-hand evidence that the threat was made.
So, my question is this: Can I legally log into Angelo's email
account and read messages between Sal and him in order to ascertain
what type of threat they pose? I do not believe that I currently have
enough credible evidence to get a restraining order against them, but
I do fear that they may harm me or a member of my family. However, if
I was to discover enough evidence that they planned to harm me, I
could see an attorney being willing to subpoena their emails and
create a case for a restraining order or something of that nature.
I know that emails are not private, in that they are basically sent
via the internet through clear-text means, and are not encrypted. I
know that employers can read emails of their employees, and have read
of cases where they read emails sent from their computers through 3rd
party email systems. I'm wondering if my reading emails from an
account that I was authorized to access (although arguably the access
was supposed to be for a specific purpose/timeframe) would get me into
legal trouble. I'm also wondering, if I were to read the emails,
would it matter, or in other words, would anything derived from
reading them be admissible in court or even be able to be used in
order to get a subpoena?
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Haw,
You were a friend to A for a long time. You know his e-mail password. You
had a falling out with S, who blames you for many petrsonal problems. You
now believe that A and S have joined forces to spread rumors about you. You
also believe that they may threaten you and your family in some way. You ask
if it is "legal" to read A's e-mail.
Legal in what sense? You won't be arrested and thrown in jail. Will a
judge allow you to admit these e-mails into a court proceeding? That's up to
the judge. Will your reputation be damaged by reading the e-mail of others
and loudly proclaiming that you are a snoop? Probably.
You mention using the e-mail to get a subpoena for something or someone.
Once again this would be up to the judge.
Good luck,
Dave M.
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In article <mds1u3ptvhe30d8bdpj86vveb3qpkemd19@4ax.com>,
HawtDawg <HawtDawg42@gmail.com> wrote:
So, my question is this: Can I legally log into Angelo's email
account and read messages between Sal and him in order to ascertain
what type of threat they pose?
No without Angelo's permission.
I know that emails are not private, in that they are basically sent
via the internet through clear-text means, and are not encrypted. I
know that employers can read emails of their employees, and have read
of cases where they read emails sent from their computers through 3rd
party email systems. I'm wondering if my reading emails from an
account that I was authorized to access (although arguably the access
was supposed to be for a specific purpose/timeframe) would get me into
legal trouble.
In the case of employers, they own the computers, so they own
the data. You would have a hard time making an argument that
since you were authorized years ago for a specific event that
you are still authorized to do so today. The fact that it is
transmitted in clear text or encrypted makes no difference.
-john-
--
======================================================================
John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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In article <mds1u3ptvhe30d8bdpj86vveb3qpkemd19@4ax.com>,
HawtDawg <HawtDawg42@gmail.com> wrote:
I live in Northern Iowa in case this matters (and could travel to a
nearby adjoining state if that would be legal elsewhere).
I previously was given the user name and password of an email account
of a person whom was a friend at the time, let's call him Angelo. The
email information was given to me years ago in order to check the
emails for the person while he was out of the country for a few
weeks.This sounds silly today, given connectivity options available to
us now, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do in order
to ensure that the person would not miss an important communication.
[[.. sneck ..]]
You are in possession of the required credentials to log into and access
another person's e-mail. You are in possession of these credentials because
that person voluntarily gave them to you _for_a_specific_purpose_ many years
ago. Among other things, the world has changed since then and the 'reason why'
you were given possession of those credentials is no longer a significant
consideration in today's world.
FEDERAL computer crime law says it is a crime for anyone to access a
protected computer "without authorization", *OR* "in excess of their
authorization". Most states have similar language in their laws, as well..
It is arguable whether your 'authorization' is still valid _at_all_.
The account owner could probably make a reasonable case that -- due to the
changes in technology -- such access by you is no longer needed, nor
desired. (heck, for that matter, you don't know that the password hasn't
been changed :)
If not, you are accessing 'without authorization'.
But, if it _is_ still valid, a *strong* argument can be made that your
proposed action would be "in excess of your authorization".
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