E-commerce tools allow e-monitoring of an internet user’s actions. By collecting information related to an internet user’s site visits, internet data miners may compile a comprehensive set of data concerning a user’s behavior. Typically, mined internet data includes: how often an internet site is visited, the user’s domain names and countries of origin, what pages they view the most, and the operating system and web browser they use to access the internet. This data is disseminated to academics, marketing agencies, and government agencies. Arguably, such data gathering and sharing could result in chilling of speech. However, technological techniques are available out there to circumvent this potential First Amendment difficulty.

The court in Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301 (1965), gave rise to the notion of “chilling effect” on freedom of expression. While no law explicitly prohibits the collection and dissemination of data, the Lamont Court struck down a federal statute requiring the Postmaster General to detain and deliver only upon the addressee’s request unsealed foreign mailings of “communist political propaganda” (Section 305(a) of the Postal Service and Federal Employees Salary Act of 1962). The “chilling effect” rationale is often used in reference to laws or actions that do not explicitly prohibit legitimate speech, but create an environment that is adverse to First Amendment rights.

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