A then-teenager who was hit the hard way when an impostor opened Net accounts in his name and sent profane and sexually explicit material online in his name can't sue the Internet service provider involved. Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court thus turned away an appeal which came from a number of vulgar messages posted in 1994 in the name of a 15-year-old New York high school student. Three New York courts had ruled against Alexander Lunney's lawsuit against Prodigy Services Co. He sued after the impostor opened Net accounts under his name and sent profane and threatening e-mails to a person who tipped police. Prodigy had sent Lunney a letter terminating one account because of obscene, abusive, threatening, and sexually explicit material, but Lunney established his own innocence - including that he was never a Prodigy customer in fact. He sued Prodigy, which subsequently found other accounts the impostor opened in the student's name. The New York Court of Appeals ruled Prodigy wasn't the publisher of the e-mail transmissions. Lunney's attorneys have called the case "the most egregious of a series of Internet related liability cases have developed an enlarging rule of law that totally immunizes non-carrier, proprietary online services from virtually any ... liability."
BROOKSVILLE, Fl. - The trend of cracking down on sexy or otherwise offensive personal e-mail on the work computer has hit the water works: Some 26 workers at the Southwest Florida Water Management District could be suspended without pay for sending sexy and personal e-mail on company computers. They'll get three weeks to appeal the actions, but published reports indicate the punishments might be staggered to keep the work disruption to a minimum. The entire case began when the utility, known popularly as Swiftmud, performed a routine e-mail check and came up with messages having nothing to do with water regulations. The check hit workers in Tampa, Brooksville, and Venice offices. Swiftmud spokesmen say the punishments will depend on the content as much as the volume of the irregular e-mails. But Swiftmud workers say morale has collapsed over the "draconian response" by the company, especially as a matter of privacy rights. Some complained the company didn't even call the workers in question in to talk about the problem before determining potential punishments. They said they were only told nine weeks earlier they'd be disciplined for e-mail abuse but had no idea of the potential punishments - ranging from written letters of reprimand to work suspensions - until April 28. Swiftmud maintains the single issue was utility equipment used for personal reasons and on utility time.
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
