83 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
83 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
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STEVE JACKSON GAMES WINS LAWSUIT
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AGAINST U.S. SECRET SERVICE
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A games publisher has won a lawsuit against the U.S. Secret Service and the
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federal government in a ground-breaking case involving computer publications
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and electronic mail privacy.
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In a decision announced in Austin, Texas, on March 12, Judge Sam Sparks of the
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federal district court for the Western District of Texas announced that the
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case of Steve Jackson Games et al. versus the U.S. Secret Service and the
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United States Government has been decided for the plaintiffs.
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The plaintiffs, which include Steve Jackson, the company he founded, and three
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users of the company's bulletin board system (BBS), sued the government on
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claims that their statutory rights to electronic mail privacy had been
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violated when the BBS and other computers, disks and printouts were seized by
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the Secret Service as part of a computer crime investigation. These rights
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are protected under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which
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extended most of the protections of the federal Wiretap Act ("Title III") to
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electronic mail.
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Jackson and his company also claimed violations of the Privacy Protection Act
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of 1980, a federal law designed to limit searches of publishers in order to
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protect their First Amendment rights.
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Mitch Kapor, founder and chairman of the board for the Electronic Frontier
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Foundation, the public interest/civil liberties organization that has
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underwritten and supported the case since it was filed in 1991, said he is
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pleased with the decision. "This decision vindicates our position that users
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of computer bulletin board systems are engaging in Constitutionally protected
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speech," Kapor said.
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"This decision shows that perseverance pays off," he added. "We've been at
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this for almost three years now, and we still don't know if it's over -- the
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Justice Department might appeal it." Nevertheless, Kapor said he is
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optimistic about the case's ultimate outcome.
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Judge Sparks awarded more than $50,000 in damages to Steve Jackson Games,
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citing lost profits and violations of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980.
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In addition, the judge awarded each plaintiff $1,000 under the Electronic
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Communications Privacy Act for the Secret Service seizure of their stored
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electronic mail. The judge also stated that plaintiffs would be reimbursed
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for their attorneys's fees.
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The judge did not find that Secret Service agents had "intercepted" the
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electronic communications that were captured when agents seized the Illuminati
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BBS in an early morning raid in the spring of 1990 as part of a computer crime
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investigation. The judge did find, however, that the ECPA had been violated
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by the agents's seizure of stored electronic communications on the system.
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The case was tried in Austin, Texas, by the Austin-based media law firm
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George, Donaldson & Ford, with case assistance provided by the
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Boston, Massachusetts, law firm of Silverglate & Good.
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Pete Kennedy, the lawyer from George, Donaldson & Ford who litigated the
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case, calls the decision "a solid first step toward recognizing that computer
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communications should be as well-protected as telephone communications."
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Kennedy also said he believes the case has particular significance for those
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who use computers to prepare and distribute publications. "There is a strong
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indication from the judge's decision that the medium of publication is
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irrelevant," he said, adding that "electronic publishers have the same
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protections against law enforcement intrusions as traditional publishers like
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newspapers and magazines. All publishers that use computers should be
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heartened by this decision. It indicates that the works-in-progress of all
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types of publications are protected under the Privacy Protection Act.
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"The case also demonstrates that there are limits on the kinds of defenses law
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enforcement agents can use, Kennedy said, noting that "the judge made it very
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clear that it is no excuse that the seizure of draft material for publication
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held on a computer was incidental or accidental."
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Mike Godwin, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has worked
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on the case since 1990, said he is pleased with the scope of the decision.
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"This case is a major step forward in protecting the rights of those who use
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computers to send private mail to each other or who use computers to create
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and disseminate publications."
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Press contact: Mike Godwin
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Work: 617-576-4510
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Pager: 1-800-SKYPAGE, 595-0535
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