NTERNET HARASSMENT RAISES NEW LEGAL ISSUES
In past editions of this newsletter, we have talked about how internet use is becoming an increasing concern, particularly in terms of the productivity of employees and potential harassment issues. Now there are various message boards on the internet in which comments about individuals or companies are posted, which often tarnish a company's reputation or that of an individual. Employers are increasingly fearful of being accused of some type of harassment because of the postings, and are concerned about insider information or potential stock fraud as well as harassment claims.
There seem to be several approaches to the issue. Many of the message board providers will remove certain information on request, provided a valid reason is given. Because many of the postings are given anonymously, various investigative firms exist to investigate those suspected of using the net for inappropriate purposes. They can track down anonymous message-board posters making slanderous comments or passing along insider information.
In another response, some companies have filed lawsuits naming "John Doe" as the defendant, and then subpoena the provider seeking the identity of the individual who made the remarks. Until recently, most providers have complied with such requests for information. There have been a couple of recently publicized lawsuits addressing these issues. Last year, Raytheon filed a lawsuit against twenty-one employees for allegedly discussing sensitive personnel and financial information on the Yahoo! boards. Though the company ultimately dropped the suit, it lead to the firing of four employees. More recently, an employee of Answer Think Consulting Group allegedly posted negative comments about his supervisor. He was terminated after Yahoo! disclosed his identity in response to a subpoena. He has filed a lawsuit in California accusing Yahoo! of violating his privacy rights by disclosing that he had made negative on-line comments about his employer.
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Get the message, pal? You're one subpoena away.
I would advise you to PM Ginger at username "Antigen" and ask her nicely to delete this crap. The law is not on your side.
