ABSTRACT
According to Merriam-Webster, the Internet is an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.1 While the World Wide Web is dened differently, the words Web and Net have become more or less synonymous with the Internet. By design, the Internet is “public.” Incredible quantities of data on the Internet are available to anyone with a computer and a browser. Some Web sites limit access to hosted data in various ways, and some allow the individual posting information to invoke privacy restrictions on unauthorized access. If no limitations apply, posted information is open to the public. Some Web sites require users to register to gain access to data, but registered users are not restricted in their use of the site’s data, within its authorized use policy (AUP) and applicable copyright and trademark law. Therefore, on a great number of sites, the posted information could be deemed public even with access limitations. AUPs on some sites prohibit certain uses of hosted information, such as for commercial purposes or marketing (e.g., spam, unsolicited commercial email). Users agree to abide by AUPs to gain access to these sites, but enforcement of AUP violations is rare and ineffectual.
