Yahoo! to Defend Against Charges Email Snooping Violated Rights

Yahoo! is facing allegations it scanned Yahoo! Mail emails to glean data for targeted advertising in a move that violated its users' privacy. The plaintiffs, residents of San Bruno, California who are lobbying for class-action status, argue that Yahoo! shared the content of emails sent between Yahoo! Mail accounts and external email servers with third parties for the purposes of data collection and targeted advertising. Federal U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh made a mixed ruling Tuesday which allowed plaintiffs to proceed with the lawsuit, but dismissed claims Yahoo!'s terms of service failed to adequately warn users that it could use correspondence to build advertising profiles.