Can I post a private email conversation on a social media forum
<p>I recently had a dispute with an online retailer. The customer service representative really showed their colors in the emails they sent to me. I then wanted to show a social media forum this interaction so I posted our entire email conversation. The retailer threatened to sue me of k didn’t remove the remarks. Have I broken the law or am I being bullied?</p>

<p>An email is protected by copyright, and cannot be lawfully distributes without permission., However, it could be quoted from fairly freely under fair use (in the US) or fair dealing (in many other countries). Particularly since most emails have no commercial market, so their value cannot be impaired, a fair use defesne is likely to prevail in many cases. Moreover, most emails are not registered with teh copyright office, which would have to be done before a copyright suit could be filed.</p>
<p>As the answer by Iñaki Viggers correctly says, there is no duty of confidentialty unless you have agreed to one, which seems unlikely.</p>
<p>Thus, quoting key portions of such an email is almost surely legally valid, and no threats of legal action would be valid.</p>

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