On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:42:39 EST, Michael Holstein said:

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The evesdroppring reported below on csuohio.edu end-users Email is a prima facie violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

I'm not sure why this got under your skin so badly, but aggregate statistics != eavesdropping. The SPAM appliance vendor software gathers these statistics, and actually includes the "good/bad" percentage on every junk summary that goes to the end users.

IANAL, but a quick summary (if the details actually matter, run it past a lawyer you're paying): When it's in flight on the wire, courts have held that the various wiretap statutes apply. Once you stick it in somebody's mailbox and it's doing 7200RPM on oxide waiting for the user to read it, ECPA applies. There's been a lot of case law on this already, because the paperwork needed (subpoena or wiretap order) for an LEO is different in each case. Now, if you're doing summary info on From:/To: info, you're almost certainly doing it while the mail is still "in flight" as you receive it, so the wiretap rules apply. And 18 USC 2511 (2)(a)(i) specifically says: "It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for an operator of a switchboard, or an officer, employee, or agent of a provider of wire or electronic communication service, whose facilities are used in the transmission of a wire or electronic communication, to intercept, disclose, or use that communication in the normal course of his employment while engaged in any activity which is a necessary incident to the rendition of his service or to the protection of the rights or property of the provider of that service, except that a provider of wire communication service to the public shall not utilize service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service quality control checks." csuohio's monitoring is arguably "service monitoring" - but keeping track of aggregate traffic levels so you can manage them is equally obviously a "service quality control check". (And "quality control check" apparently covers almost any aggregate statistics you keep as input for operational config/tuning decisions). http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002511----000-.... (Again, IANAL, and I'm sure somebody who IAL will correct me if I've egregiously mis-stated the above. :)

PS: I *am* abuse@.

Admittedly, I'm not - but he's got the cubicle across the aisle from me.