An issue receiving some news attention lately is whether personal e-mails sent using public equipment is subject to FOIA laws. In my (obviously biased) opinion, if an e-mail was written on a publicly owned computer; transmitted via a publicly funded server; and came to or from a public e-mail address, then it is a public record. And as such, it is subject to scrutiny by any interested party. Of course, not everyone agrees. Some of the most vocal individuals in favor of keeping certain e-mails out of sight of the public are those publicly employed/elected people whose e-mails have been requested.
Here is an editorial on the subject from The Arkansas Leader. A quote: "The Freedom of Information Act does not exempt material of a sexual nature from public access." Editorial: Release all emails now. July 20, 2007: The plot is thickening--take a look. Court unseals filings is the latest.
On the other side, here is the Governor of New Jersey's take on the matter: Corzine tells court Katz e-mails should stay private.
Below is a statement from Bill Douglas, the Kootenai County, ID Prosecuting Attorney. He fought the public release of nearly 600 "personal" e-mails that he had sent from work all the way up to the Idaho Supreme Court. There, it was decided that his many e-mails were indeed subject to FOIA. Read the PDF here.
I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this topic. Please post here, or send me your opinions in an e-mail and I'll post them for you.
Updated by Maverick, August 27, 2007
The Seattle Times has this to say on the topic: Are e-mails public records?
Richard Harrison of Partly Cloudy in Florida has blogged about the question of public vs private e-mails before. See his comments here: Sometimes, It's That Simple . . . Part 2
Man may see wife's work e-mails JUDGE TELLS STATE CABINET TO TURN THEM OVER, November 20, 2007
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