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I did some work for an organization, who, after the Ashley Madison leak, downloaded the entire leak and searched through it to find out if any of their employee

I did some work for an organization, who, after the Ashley Madison leak, downloaded the entire leak and searched through it to find out if any of their employees were in the dump. I wondered, wasn't the data still technically private data that was just stolen and released? And wouldn't it be against the law to then download a copy of that data yourself? But it was actually the legal department that downloaded the dump, so I didn't have much to say.

vacri 10y ago
A variant of this is the massive disclaimer on corporate emails, that 'binds' you to ridiculous levels of action if you receive an errant mail from them. Of course, it's not enforceable, as it's a one-sided contract - if you never agreed to anything, then they can't (morally, and usually legally as I understand it) force your hand. (IANAL) Someone explained this to me by saying "If my email signature said 'by receiving this email, you agree to pay me $5', would that be considered a legal contract?"
- meshko 10y ago
  Yes. (By reading this comment you agree to pay me $100.)
mistermann 10y ago
I'd actually love to hear from someone that knows the law on this.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- meshko 10y ago
  I think journalists are constantly publishing information obtained through illegal means and it is legal. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/is_it_illegal_to_download_the.html http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/is_it_illegal_to_do...
  - ubernostrum 10y ago
    In many Western countries there are laws which specifically exempt journalists, and only journalists, from some types of laws about releasing improperly-obtained information. It does not generalize to other professions/pursuits; it would be like saying "well, the person who reads the parking meters is allowed to issue parking tickets, so anyone else should be too" -- the person issuing the tickets has specific-to-them legal permission to do so.
    - meshko 10y ago
      yeah, absolutely; but the guy in the linked article claims to be a lawyer and says it's ok.
    - JorgeGT 10y ago
      The problem is that in recent times with online media the definition of journalist has blurred. There are Youtube channels, Instagram accounts and blogs with more monthly views than most local / regional newspapers, are they covered by journalist protection laws?
dreamcompiler 10y ago
Wouldn't it have been against the law for the company to have acted on that information? What were they planning to do, fire people who were having an affair?
- nwah1 10y ago
  Only those planning affairs on company time.
- tuna-piano 10y ago
  Well, it was only for people using their work email addresses in the leak. And I'm not sure, but I assume since most employees are 'at will' - they can be fired at any time for any reason?

vacri 10y ago

A variant of this is the massive disclaimer on corporate emails, that 'binds' you to ridiculous levels of action if you receive an errant mail from them. Of course, it's not enforceable, as it's a one-sided contract - if you never agreed to anything, then they can't (morally, and usually legally as I understand it) force your hand. (IANAL) Someone explained this to me by saying "If my email signature said 'by receiving this email, you agree to pay me $5', would that be considered a legal contract?"

meshko 10y ago
Yes. (By reading this comment you agree to pay me $100.)

mistermann 10y ago

I'd actually love to hear from someone that knows the law on this.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
meshko 10y ago
I think journalists are constantly publishing information obtained through illegal means and it is legal. http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/is_it_illegal_to_download_the.html http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/08/is_it_illegal_to_do...
- ubernostrum 10y ago
  In many Western countries there are laws which specifically exempt journalists, and only journalists, from some types of laws about releasing improperly-obtained information. It does not generalize to other professions/pursuits; it would be like saying "well, the person who reads the parking meters is allowed to issue parking tickets, so anyone else should be too" -- the person issuing the tickets has specific-to-them legal permission to do so.
  - meshko 10y ago
    yeah, absolutely; but the guy in the linked article claims to be a lawyer and says it's ok.
  - JorgeGT 10y ago
    The problem is that in recent times with online media the definition of journalist has blurred. There are Youtube channels, Instagram accounts and blogs with more monthly views than most local / regional newspapers, are they covered by journalist protection laws?

dreamcompiler 10y ago

Wouldn't it have been against the law for the company to have acted on that information? What were they planning to do, fire people who were having an affair?

nwah1 10y ago
Only those planning affairs on company time.
tuna-piano 10y ago
Well, it was only for people using their work email addresses in the leak. And I'm not sure, but I assume since most employees are 'at will' - they can be fired at any time for any reason?