Damned If You Do…

And maybe if you don’t as well. At least that’s what Yahoo, Comcast and Windstream are discovering. The three companies are defendants in class actions filed in Georgia. Their alleged offense? They apparently turned over customer information in response to a subpoena. Which begs the question, “that’s frowned on?” Well, maybe. The subpoenas were faxed from Georgia to the defendants’ headquarters, all located outside of Georgia. So the suit turns in part on whether the subpoenas were valid. Lawyers for the proposed class say “no.” And, according to the lawsuits, that makes a big difference. The Federal Stored Communications Act permits disclosure of customer information in response to a warrant “issued using State warrant procedures.” The plaintiffs contend that a fax delivery of a warrant out of state does not properly use Georgia warrant procedures. And that makes disclosure a problem. But that may not be the final word. For example, there may be a difference between “issuance” which is what the court does and “service”, which is what the fax transmission is all about. And another provision of the Stored Communications Act permits the disclosure where the subscriber or customer has consented. That issue will require a review of the terms of service. And if they’re broad enough, the defendants may be off the hook. The lesson is this, unless you really enjoy being a defendant in a class action suit, it might make sense to be very sure about the validity of any subpoena that seeks customer information. You might want to, you know, call a lawyer or something.