California Supreme Court Ruling Highlights Need For Corporate E-Mail Use Policies

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

08 July 2003

A California Supreme Court ruling has highlighted the need for firms to put in place a coherent and legally watertight e-mail use policy, according to a UK IT expert.

In an opinion issued last week, the Supreme Court ruled that a disgruntled ex-employee of Intel did not trespass on the firm's systems by mailing messages criticising it to thousands of the company's corporate e-mail accounts in 1996.

Observers have suggested that this may make it more difficult for companies in the United States to block unauthorised use of their systems, as they would be obliged to provide evidence that the trespass had caused actual damage, rather than merely claiming that property abuse had taken place.

Speaking to the Vnunet.com news service, Rupert Battock, IT lawyer with Nabarro Nathanson, suggested that the California court's ruling could also have implications for companies in the United Kingdom.

'If the case did not amount to trespass under California law, I would be surprised if a similar set of circumstances would amount to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act in the UK,' he explained, adding that companies should attempt to protect themselves by putting in place an official e-mail policy, covering rights of monitoring and measures to manage liability.

'There is no reason why a policy should not also aim to deal with misuse by an ex-employee,' he concluded.

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