Cyberlaw Clinic Wins Motion To Quash Subpoena For Private Information Of Yahoo! Users

In their second win in seven days, Cyberlaw Clinic students won a ruling from the bench yesterday when Magistrate Judge Brazil of the Federal District Court for Northern California quashed a subpoena for private information about 32 Yahoo! users.

SeeBeyond Technology Corp. sought “any and all” information about these 32 Yahoo! users who posted messages on the Yahoo! message board for SeeBeyond. This was founded on a pending suit for alleged defamation based on messages posted by someone other than these 32 users. The Cyberlaw clinic asked that the Court quash the subpoena and protect the right to anonymously post on Yahoo! message boards, when the information sought was well beyond the discovery rules, and where there were no defamatory postings submitted by SeeBeyond.

Following oral argument by 2L Tim Pennington, the Court agreed that the subpoena unconstitutionally abridged free speech rights, that subpoena was not narrowly tailored, and that SeeBeyond had not shown a valid defamation claim.

For more information about the Cyberlaw Clinic, the Center for Internet and Society, or to apply for legal representation, please visit cyberlaw.stanford.edu. For more information about the SeeBeyond case, please click here.