Did Faux News just break the law?

[Shankapotomus]

This morning Faux "News" is pushing a recently "obtained" email chain purporting to suggest the admin was concerned the ACA website would have technical difficulties after launching. As I was going through the email chain looking for the suspect exchange (which will turn out to be BS since this would be a question that would come up for any high profile website before launch), I noticed this:



So my question is, given the Murdoch empire's past practices of "obtaining" news,

1. How did Faux "obtain" these emails?

and

2. Did they break the law in disseminating these emails on their website when it is posted that such activity is "strictly prohibited?"

[snooper2]

1. I've got something similar on every email I send

It's just something the cool kids do

[Shankapotomus]

3. It has to be there for a legal reason, no?

[snooper2]

5. Yeah, if I'm communicating with a vendor just a reminder for them

not to tell what I'm involved in to any competitors that use them as well...

just standard corporate blah blah...

The real meat is in NDA that you have signed

[Rex]

4. Seriously, even your personal emails to LOLCATS?

I only throw that disclaimer on an email if I want to scare someone.

[snooper2]

6. Yep! You know you can copy them right off the DU smilies page to an email that is in HTML

[Rex]

8. That is funny.

[Myrina]

2. Unless they have a source at the NSA ...

[gordianot]

7. Murdoch is immune from the law only his employees have occasional questions.

From time to time a slighted politician makes some noise most often jealous that the Fox empire is not pumping them up with either positive or negative publicity.

[former9thward]

9. There are two issues here.

1) When you put a disclaimer on an email (or anything else) you are not creating law. Only government can do that. So when someone "prohibits" something from being disseminated, it has no meaning. They have no authority to do that. It is just a wish on their part.

2) If Fox got the email from the person the email was sent to then even the meaningless disclaimer does not apply. They can give the email to anyone. Which is why you should be careful who you send confidential emails.

[PowerToThePeople]

10. No

at best it could be copyright or trademark infringement. There is no legally binding terms in the email adder.

[gerogie1]

11. A notice in a email is not legally binding.

Unless you agree to it. The only thing they could do is try to claim copyright.

For example, They could put a statement like this at the end of the email.

"Any one not authorized to read this email then reads it must pay the originator $10,000"


They could never collect on such a notice in a email.

These notices are just for the gullible to think they can't share what is in a email.

[Shankapotomus]

14. But if I register a copyright

Doesn't it help my case in a court of law if someone steals, copies and distributes my documents?

[Laelth]

12. Pure CYA.

Such disclaimers are merely an attempt by the sender to limit his or her liability. Such disclaimers carry no legal force except that they might protect the original sender from liability for disclosing privileged or confidential data.

-Laelth