When Is It Illegal To Show Emails That Were Sent To Me
<p>I emailed messages to a particular business that were replied to with the business having consistently giving rude and just-don't-care-about-the-customer responses and even grossly incompetent responses.</p>

<p>So am I allowed to show these emails say in a youtube video meaning right when I open my email account and have the emails open?</p>

<p>Am I only allowed to quote what the emails said in order to avoid some copyright violation or other law?</p>

<p>Technically speaking, such emails are copyrighted by the sender. However, showing such an email to a third party, or posting it publicly in order to comment on it would almost surely be a fair use in the US. In any case, such an email would have no commercial value, and so there would be no financial damages possible. A lawsuit over such a technical copyright infringement would, in my view, be quite unlikely, and even less likely to be successful. Indeed, filing such a suit would be one of the best ways for the business to draw attention to the issue, in an example of the Streisand Effect. </p>

<p>I will assume that you are in a jurisdiction of the U.S. Also, please note that your issue has nothing to do with copyright violations. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>am I allowed to show these emails say in a youtube video meaning right
  when I open my email account and have the emails open?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes. In fact, showing the emails will be more effective (1) in terms of credibility of your denouncement on Youtube, and (2) to dissuade the company about bringing --or threatening to bring-- judicial proceedings against you for defamation. The latter because <em>truth</em> is an absolute defense in defamation lawsuits. By disclosing the emails you pre-empt the company's opportunity to allege that you "falsified" or "distorted" the company's statements.</p>

<p>It's may be illegal to publish these emails if (a) they were not intended for you, so you have no right to the contents. And it may be illegal to publish these emails if they contain information that is illegal to publish no matter where they come from (if I send you an email with instructions how to build a bomb to kill people, it's very likely illegal for you to re-publish this). </p>

<p>In your case, the email was intended for you (not sent accidentally), and it is legal to inform the public truthfully how the company behaved towards you. </p>

copyright