Don't expect your emails to be private
You know your privacy is an illusion — especially if you're a Facebook member — but maybe you need a reminder? Leave it to Mark Rasch, the former head of the Justice Department's computer crime unit . In a recent editorial for the Telegraph he makes it clear: Want to buy some pot from your friend? Don't seal the deal over email.
According to Rasch, the government argues that because ISPs and employers monitor emails, users have no expectation their emails are private. And expectations are key. In a 1963 ruling on Katz v. United States, the Supreme Court decided that that citizens only had a right against unreasonable seizure if they and society expected privacy.
So the take away lesson? If you're going to conduct illicit activity over email, use code. We recommend the classic letter to your "mother." Feel free to use this as a template:
Hi Mother,
Thank you so much for the brownies! They were delicious! Of course I'd love some more! How much for a quarter pan?
Love, Your Son.
