If a person were to send a message surreptitiously from a friend’s email account, it would be considered wrongful “hacking.” When LinkedIn is that “person,” it believes it is free speech.
The subject of dispute is LinkedIn’s emailing of users’ friends with invitations to join the site−without user permission. The issue, however, is not as clear-cut as it may seem, as the company is arguing a right to send emails as free speech allowed under the site’s user agreement. A lawsuit against....