Does sending a barrage of e-mails to former colleagues constitute illegal trespassing on the company’s network?

In a case that is being closely watched as a potential test of legal limits to free speech on the Internet, the California Supreme Court heard arguments in an appeal to determine whether Ken Hamidi’s bulk email campaign to his former colleagues amounts to trespassing.

Hamidi, who believes he was unfairly fired, sent a series of scornful e-mails to more than 30,000 Intel employees over a two-year period about the company’s employment practices.

“The case involves whether the Internet is a medium everyone can use in a democratic way, or whether a few very large corporations can control the Internet and impoverish free speech,” said Karl Olson, one of Hamidi’s pro bono lawyers. “The court took a big chunk out of the First Amendment.”

Intel claims Hamidi’s actions disrupted employees’ and forced the IT department to spend hours trying to block his e-mails.

One of the e-mails sent by Hamidi read, “Are you tired of being victimized, … redeployed or targeted for termination?” Each e-mail provided recipients with the option of opting-out from future broadcasts, which, according to Hamidi only 450 employees did.

The December 2001 state appeals court ruled in favor of Intel, declaring in a majority opinion that “Intel proved more than its displeasure with Hamidi’s message, it showed it was hurt by the loss of productivity….”.

(via Wired News)