Cosbourne1@hotmail.com wrote:

>
>I'm writing to learn the legality of distributing "captured"
>emails by a third party, who used a keylogger to gain
>access to a private email account.
>
>The back story is that a husband has bugged his
>home computer, ostensively to monitor his kid's home
>computer use. The real reason is to monitor his wife's
>computer use. They are going through a messy divorce
>and can't afford to physically split up and move out,
>before the settlement and decree is issued.
>
>The wife is starting a new life, and her soon to be former
>husband is monitoring her every move, including using
>spyware to break into her hotmail account, which he
>did, and is viewing (printing) her private emails. These
>emails include third parties writings, who are not part
>of the divorce drama.
>
>He is threatening to publish the email to both sides of
>the family, including the writings of other people with
>whom she's been communicating with.
>
>My question is what laws either federal or state (MN)
>does this distribution of private email violate (if any)
>
>Please respond here.
>
>Thanks,

If the computer is owned by the husband, then he has the right to
capture any information sent to or from the computer, however, he does
not have the right to use captured usernames and passwords to access
another computer system without approval. He is also not at liberty
to publicly disclose private email received on his computer without
the permission of the sender. He most certainly cannot legally
retrieve email from his wife's hotmail account and publish them
without the permission of both his wife and the sender of the email.

One law that applies to illegally accessing another computer system is
the "Computer Fraud and Abuse Act"
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/h...0----000-.html

There are others that may also apply at the state level.