Raytheon ‘Forum’ Case Has Privacy Advocates Worried
BOSTON — The Raytheon employees were discussing business issues. Manpower. Finance. Rumors of mergers and acquisitions. Things one might overhear at a restaurant or on the golf course.
But the discussions weren’t private. They occurred on an Internet forum where anyone could read them.
Raytheon Co., claiming that its company secrets were being told to the world, got subpoenas forcing Yahoo Inc., the forum operator, to help pierce the shield of anonymity the workers thought they enjoyed when they used computer “handles” in place of their real names.
Yahoo complied, and now two employees have reportedly resigned.
Privacy advocates said Monday that the case is a clear illustration of how fragile anonymity is on the Internet.
Raytheon earlier this year filed suit against 21 people it alleged discussed corporate business on the forum. The forum in question is one of many such sites on the Internet that offer places for people to talk about specific companies.
At least some of the defendants are believed to be Raytheon employees. Not all their identities are known.
The people used aliases like “Rayman-mass” and “RaytheonVeteran”--names they may have thought would protect their true identities.
When Raytheon filed the suit in February, it had only those online handles. But armed with the subpoena, it went knocking on Yahoo’s doors.
Diane Hunt, a Yahoo spokeswoman, would not say exactly how the company responded to the court orders, but she did say the company “attempts to comply with validly issued subpoenas.” Hunt said people who use Yahoo services should be aware that the company will not sell or give away users’ information, but that court orders are another matter.
“We notify the members in advance,” Hunt said. “In the message board terms and conditions, we make it clear.”
The Boston Globe reported Monday that two of the lawsuit’s targets had left the company, apparently as a result of Raytheon’s investigation.
Raytheon spokesman David Polk would not comment on the report, nor would he say whether the company would terminate employees found to have divulged information on the forum.
An America Online spokesman confirmed that his company had also received a court order commanding it to provide information on the people discussing Raytheon.
AOL has a policy similar to Yahoo’s, but spokesman Rich D’Amato said whenever AOL receives such a subpoena in a civil case, it always notifies the member, giving the person 14 days to try to quash the subpoena. Only after that time has expired will the company turn over the information.
