The legal status of cookies鈥攆iles left on a computer鈥檚 hard disc by
some websites鈥攔emains unclear in the US following the ruling on a
pioneering lawsuit. Geoffrey Davidian, a newspaper publisher in Cookeville,
Tennessee, argued that he should have access to the cookies on city officials鈥� computers
(This Week, 22 November 1997, p 18).
鈥淚f city computers may only be used for official business, then the cookie files
must be official files,鈥� says Davidian.
A federal judge has now ruled that the Cookeville city authorities don鈥檛 have
to hand over their cookies. But the ruling leaves the bigger question of whether
cookies are public records for state courts to decide.