Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
Court Rules No Expectation of Privacy in AOL Subscriber Case
A Connecticut court dismissed a civil suit against the City of Bridgeport and two police officers for obtaining information about AOL subscribers without a warrant. As part of a police investigation, the police officers made a request to AOL to release a subscriber’s information. AOL provided the subscriber’s name, address, phone numbers and various pieces of information relating to his account. Although no charges were ever filed, the angry subscriber filed a suit against AOL, the City and the police officers and argued, among other things, that the release of the information was an intrusion into his privacy and violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The court held that one would not reasonably expect the subscriber information to be private for Fourth Amendment purposes and dismissed the suit. Among other things, the court noted that AOL's terms of service and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act provide that subscriber information may be released in cases of physical threats. The case against AOL was transferred to federal court in Virginia and is still pending.
For additional information, visit: