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Intel Wins Suit to Bar E-Mail

Judge rules that ex-employee was trespassing via e-mail, but free speech advocates shudder.

By Cheri Paquet, IDG News   

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge John Lewis ruled Tuesday that the lawsuit was a case of trespass and that the service provider, Intel, has the right to get a permanent injunction to block e-mail sent by Ken Hamidi.

Hamidi, a former Intel engineer fired in 1996, sent e-mail to 30,000 Intel employees on six occasions.

Judge Lewis issued no explanation regarding his ruling that the e-mail constituted digital trespassing, says Shari Steele, an attorney and legal services director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Judge Lewis left to the discretion of the service provider the chore of determining which e-mail is acceptable.

Steele hopes that Hamidi will appeal the court's decision. Hamidi has said he will appeal all the way to the California Supreme Court if necessary; he has until mid-May to file.

What's Trespassing?

"At the very least, the appellate court can put severe limit on what it is that makes something a trespass," Steele says.

She would prefer this lawsuit not be classified as a trespass. "Intel could have gone after Hamidi in other ways," she says.

The company claimed Hamidi used an old e-mail list to send mail, and could have sued him for stealing proprietary information.

Since Intel's e-mail addresses are not published outside the company, Judge Lewis ruled Hamidi's action an intrusion on private property, says Chuck Mulloy, an Intel representative.

Intel recognizes Hamidi's right to express opinions, Mulloy says. In fact, Hamidi has disseminated his complaints against Intel's treatment of employees through postings on his Web site and on college campuses, and he has staged public protests at Intel sites.

Freedom of Expression

However, Hamidi's use of Intel's e-mail system is the same as moving a public demonstration inside the company, Mulloy says. "This is where his right to express himself conflicts with Intel's trespass rights," Mulloy adds.

Intel hopes Hamidi will comply with the permanent injunction and stop sending e-mail, Mulloy says.

This case could set a precedent if Hamidi appeals the judge's motion, Mulloy adds.

A Matter of Precedence

This case centers on freedom of expression and will affect every American, Hamidi says. "When someone tries to deliver a speech in a public forum, [the government] will say 'Intel versus Hamidi--you cannot do that,'" Hamidi says.

"Cases like mine educate people and I am determined to stand behind my beliefs," Hamidi adds. "Judge Lewis, who was not Internet-savvy or literate enough to understand the difference between real space and cyberspace, said that I was trespassing on Intel's private property."

But Hamidi maintains he sent his e-mail to an Internet service provider's mail server, which resides on the Internet and is a public domain. "The company cannot claim privacy on these public systems," he adds.

When Intel links its private intranet into the Internet, the company enters public ground, Hamidi adds. "I have never tried to access, hack, or post to [Intel's network]."