Facebook and the Stored Communications Act - What's Protected?

http://ow.ly/6mG3v

An article by Jeremy Byellin of Thomson Reuters appearing on the Westlaw insider blog.

This article is the first in a series regarding Facebook, and how the Stored Communications Act applies to the social media networking site.

The article describes the application of the SCA to Internet Service Providers, as follows, "

The SCA deals with the voluntary and compelled disclosure of “stored wire and electronic communications and transactional records” retained by third-party internet service providers (ISPs).

In addition, it also prohibits ISPs from divulging the contents of electronic communications carried, stored, or maintained by the service.

It should be noted that “ISP” here has a much broader definition than normal.

Instead of simply referring to an organization that provides internet access, “ISP” in the SCA sense means that it provides either one of two very wide services: “electronic communication service” (ECS) or “remote computing service” (RCS)."

The court have found that social media networks are both ECS and RCS providers.  The author goes on to state, "

In civil matters, a court cannot issue a subpoena to either of the two (or any other social media sites) for the release of communications relating to a third-party (the SCA also has criminal law implications, but they are extensive enough to warrant a separate post).

Nevertheless, Courts can, and often do issue discovery orders compelling a party of a lawsuit to grant an opposing party access to his or her Facebook page."

The article also illustrates an example of a lawsuit that applied the SCA to a real situation where social media posts were involved.