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To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (271)	5/21/2000 3:16:00 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

Re: 5/13/00 - Yahoo Sued For Providing User's Name Yahoo Sued For Providing User's Name Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, May 13, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Ohio man who was fired after criticizing his employer on a message board has filed a lawsuit against Yahoo, the Santa Clara Internet portal, for disclosing his identity. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Federal Court, accuses Yahoo of violating the man's privacy by revealing his name to his employer. The employer, AnswerThink, a technology consulting firm in New York, had demanded the information to find out who was posting negative messages about it on the Internet. The Yahoo case is the first time an Internet company has been sued for complying with such a request, which usually comes in the form of a subpoena. It comes as corporations increasingly use the courts to uncover the names of their anonymous critics and could help define what kind of information Internet firms can legally reveal. ``This is an issue that incorporates important privacy and free speech issues,'' said David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy advocacy group. ``We have been critical of Yahoo's policy on this subject for some time.'' Yahoo would not comment on the lawsuit other than to say in an e-mail that the company ``takes privacy very seriously and continually strives to be a leader in the industry.'' Yahoo also pointed out that it has seals of approval from several online privacy groups. The plaintiff in the case did not reveal his name in court filings and is instead listed by his online pseudonym, Aquacool 2000. In addition to violating his privacy, he said Yahoo engaged in breach of contract and false advertising. Megan Gray, Aquacool 2000's lawyer, said her client did indeed ridicule his former bosses on Yahoo's message board. For example, he said that one of his bosses ``is so dull that a 5-watt bulb gives him a run for the money.'' AnswerThink responded to the postings by filing a lawsuit claiming that it had been defamed and issued a subpoena to Yahoo asking it to identify the author of the messages. Gray said Yahoo complied with the subpoena without notifying Aquacool 2000. Had he known, Gray said, he would have tried to fight it. Gray also said that by revealing the information, Yahoo violated its privacy policy that says the company ``is committed to safeguarding your privacy online'' and that it will let users know ``with whom your information may be shared.'' However, Yahoo also states in its policy that it will reveal a user's identity when ``legally compelled.'' Shannon Stubo, a spokeswoman for Yahoo, said the company now notifies users when their information is subpoenaed. She said the change was made six weeks ago, as soon as ``demand was significant enough,'' and before Aquacool 2000's suit was filed. Stubo would not say how many times Yahoo has revealed user information in response to subpoenas. However, Sobel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said Yahoo has in the past complied with dozens of subpoenas, even those that were for frivolous lawsuits filed by companies that had no basis for a defamation suit and instead simply wanted to quash dissent. He added that people who are identified by Yahoo often have no idea and are fired for posting critical messages without being told why. However, Sobel said Yahoo has the right to disclose identities in suits that have merit, such as when people illegally post trade secrets. E-mail Verne Kopytoff at verne@sfgate.com. ¸2000 San Francisco Chronicle sfgate.com