A concrete case has focused on the rights that an individual has over the control of their social media accounts when there is an enterprise in the middle.
After almost two years, a federal judge has rejected Linda Eagle’s argument against her former employers. She accused Edcomm of violating anti-hacking statute after the company took control of her LinkedIn account once she got sacked.
This Pennsylvania woman founded Edcomm on 1987. In 2010 she sold the company, which uses LinkedIn as a sales tool. Before being fired in 2011, Linda gave the new owners her LinkedIn password to allow them to post on her behalf.
But when they fired her, they changed her password as well as her picture and the name with the new CEO one. And she plaintiff the company. She claims that she was denied potential business opportunities as a result of Edcomm’s unauthorized access and control over her account.
Lost opportunities are simply not compensable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA),
the court ruled. The reputation harm were neither an CFAA lawsuit’s issue.
The court dismissed also that replacing her name violated trademark law. This case will go forward based on Pennsylvania state law charges.