CAN WHAT I WRITE IN AN E-MAIL BE TRACKED?

Absolutely! And you can probably bet that it is. Although there is a law that makes it illegal to read or share the contents of an a-mail, there are a couple of important loopholes.


Employers monitoring employees aren't covered (technically, they own the computer, the network, and the software, so they have a right to access the things they own. If the person you send the email to consents to share it, they don't need your permission. Or, as we have learned before, if law enforcement gets curious, they can take a peek with a court order.


Furthermore, anytime you send an a-mail from point A to point B, it goes through any number of Internet companies on its way. Each company has its own set of privacy' policies and its own interpretation of its obligations and rights. You can't even be stare that the companies are all governed by U.S. law. Finally, the biggest and most important exception is that a-mail is considered private only when it is in transit. Once the text resides on a computer somewhere for more than 1 80 days, it enjoys much less protection.


All of these exceptions mean that, if someone really wants to, he or she can most likely read your a-mail. Practical obscurity, the fact that there are too many a-mails from too many people to make yours worth caring about, will probably protect you in all but the most unusual circumstances. But the safest bet is not to count on it.