FedEx Remailers

[Tim May]

On Monday, September 17, 2001, at 09:50 AM, Greg Broiles wrote:

> At 07:23 AM 9/17/2001 +0000, Ryan Lackey wrote:
>
>> The only viable long-term solution I see for most of these things is
>> charging per-transaction for messages.  Remailers are exactly the kind 
>> of
>> application where "postage" could first be applied.  The problems seem
>> twofold:
>>
>> 1) Remailer operators are exposed to new and additional legal threat 
>> if they
>> accept payment for service (right?)
>
> "New and additional" might be too strong, but one of the elements of 
> contributory or vicarious copyright infringement is whether or not the 
> defendant profited from the direct infringement - and changing 
> remailing from an unpaid public service to an (apparently) for-profit 
> business pretty much concedes that point to the plaintiff.
>

I'm not a lawyer, but why not look at "package delivery services" for 
some examples:

-- Federal Express, UPS, Airborne Express, Emory International, DHL, etc.

-- none of them are held liable for the contents of what they ship, 
whether illegal copies of software, pornography, etc.

-- they may be required to cooperate in drug smuggling investigations, 
for example, but this is quite different from either requiring them to 
know the contents of what they ship or holding them liable for illegal 
materials shipped.

(Maybe they applied for and got "common carrier" status. I don't know. 
But I also know that they are not "required to accept business from 
anyone," as some have claimed is one of the sine qua nons of C.C. 
status.)

We can imagine a version of the remailer network that operates with 
FedEx overnight letters, with a diskette or CD-R in each envelope, from 
each "repackager" to the next.

Would FedEx be liable for the contents? If not them, why would a person 
receiving a FedEx package and then processing the unreadable-to-him 
(encrypted) files?

On a related note, has FedEx ever been faced criminal or civil charges 
for transporting material?

(This is of special relevance because it seems the recent terrorists 
used FedEx overnight letters to communicate.)

The requirement placed on Mailboxes, Etc. that some proof of a "true 
name" being offered would NOT affect this "FedEx remailer" system. 
(Because, of course, the act of mixing is happening _after_ messages are 
received and _before_ they are mailed again.)

--Tim May