Re: 11/9/00 - [IM] TechWeb: Ingram Micro Sues Online Critics
Ingram Micro Sues Online Critics
(11/09/00, 3:57 p.m. ET) By Scott Campbell, TechWeb News
Ingram Micro filed a lawsuit against individuals who criticized the distributor on a Yahoo message board, an Ingram Micro spokeswoman said.
The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court in California, seeks to stop the individuals from posting sensitive information about Ingram Micro Inc. (stock: IM) and allegedly libelous comments, the spokeswoman said. She declined to identify the defendants.
Last week, in messages posted on a message board, two Yahoo Inc. users said they were notified that Ingram Micro had subpoenaed Yahoo for information about their identities.
"I guess Ingram Micro does not believe in free speach! [sic]," wrote a user with the pseudonym "ingramsucks."
Yahoo Inc. (stock: YHOO) is working with Ingram Micro to resolve the matter, the distributor's spokeswoman said.
Ingram Micro executives declined to comment, and Yahoo executives couldn't be reached. Efforts to contact the board users were unsuccessful.
The validity of the lawsuit depends on the nature of the messages, said Robert O'Neil, a constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia.
"It would depend on whether it was a breach of some security law or SEC law," O'Neil said.
The privacy of message board users' identities has been the subject of a number of lawsuits. In several cases, Yahoo has been subpoenaed by companies seeking to identify individuals who post messages anonymously.
In August, a judge ordered Yahoo to give Apple Computer Inc. (stock: AAPL) information about a message board user that Apple said leaked information about upcoming products before they were introduced. Apple subsequently sued the person.
Last May, a message board user named "Aquacool_2000" filed a suit against Yahoo that challenged its practice of disclosing personal information to third parties without notifying the user, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
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