About Stock Message Board Posters

Abstract

We know that web site operator, such as Google and Yahoo, and Internet service provider (ISP), such as American Online (AOL) and Comcast, keep track of Internet users’ IP addresses and possibly their personal information such as e-mail addresses, dates of births, and home addresses, which are provided upon registration.¹ Web site operators state that they may disclose personal information to law enforcement agencies or other parties if they suspect someone of wrongdoing, such as security fraud. So say, for example, you are trying to post a message on one of the Yahoo! Finance stock message boards. Yahoo expects users to follow their terms of service (TOS) and you will probably see a forewarning on Yahoo! Finance saying that although your IP address is not displayed on your post, Yahoo! does record your Yahoo! ID and IP address to help combat abuse and Yahoo! may disclose such information to law enforcement agencies or other parties, if necessary. Similar terms of service can be found on almost every stock message board.²