Facebook, MySpace Emails Are Private

Your Facebook and MySpace emails and comments are private and cannot be subpoenaed, a U.S. District Court in California found.

The court reasoned that the messages, once read by the recipient, are “stored” for backup purposes under the Stored Communications Act and cannot be divulged except by consent of the recipient.

“With respect to webmail and private messaging, the court is satisfied that those forms of communications media are inherently private such that stored messages are not readily accessible to the general public” and therefore cannot be subpoenaed the court said.

As to whether Facebook wall postings and MySpace comments are public, the court found that, based on the record before it, such postings and comments also were private because the owner of the Facebook and MySpace page can restrict access. However, if the privacy settings allow public access, then the postings may be subpoenaed.

The issue arose in a copyright case by Buckley Crispin against Christian Audigier and his sublicenses of Crispin’s artwork on garments. The defendants served subpoenas on the social networking sites Facebook and MySpace, among others, seeking subscriber information and all communications between Crispin and tattoo artist Bryan Callan. Only Crispin, not Facebook or MySpace, filed a motion to quash the subpoenas. A magistrate judge denied the motion, but the district court judge reversed and partially granted the motion to quash.

The court found that the emails and comments were private and quashed the subpoenas. As to postings to a wall, the court asked the parties to “develop a fuller evidentiary record regarding plaintiff’s privacy settings and the extent of access allowed to his Facebook wall and MySpace comments.” If the settings allow the public to view the postings, then the court would allow the postings to be subpoenaed.

Crispin v. Audigier, U.S. Dist. Court, Central Dist. Calif. No. 09-9509, issued May 26, 2010.