It must be hard to be a computer network professional. You’re responsible to maintain security, you have little or no control over what people send and receive from the computers you maintain, and you may be the only person with the technical knowledge and access to identify the source and availability of electronically stored information. I imagine these folks hate subpoenas, especially if they have nothing to do with their employer’s business.
In Tener v. Cremer,[FOOTNOTE 1] the plaintiff sought to compel a non-party, New York University, to respond to a subpoena that might enable the plaintiff to identify the source of a posting on “Vitals.com,” an internet opinion website that advertises itself as the place “where doctors are examined.” This appears to be one of many internet sites that solicit opinions that others may use in making consumer decisions, and the plaintiff in Tener was a board certified physician who wanted to sue the author of allegedly defamatory remarks.
