In a 2-1 decision, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld a federal judge's dismissal last year of a wiretapping charge against Branford C. Councilman, a former vice president of Interloc. According to a 2001 indictment, Councilman ordered his employees to write software to monitor the incoming email of Interloc subscribers, looking for email from rival Amazon. The Appeals Court ruling says that Councilman's actions were legal. Representatives from the CDT and EFF are quoted as saying the decision is a real blow to privacy rights. Oddly enough, both Interloc's former system administrator and Alibris, which bought Interloc in 1998, plead guilty in the case.