Actually, it's not.
If the website had been set up specifically to post the data, then yes.
But a general purpose board where anyone can post anything? Unlikely that the owner is liable.
O’Reilly says that anyone who down loaded the private information can also be liable.
O'Reilly is full of it.
On the Internet "looking at something" and "downloading something" are the same thing. Your computer downloads this webpage and then displays it.
There is no chance that people that showed up and looked at the data can be held liable.
I may have mis-stated that, O’Reilly said that anyone who down loaded and passed on the information is liable.
Look, just imagine if this was FreeRepublic that allowed purloined personal information to remain on the site and be passed on to others. If you think that Jim Robinson would not be held responsible, you’re fooling yourself. They would fight it, but they would, at the very least be tried in the press, their web server would be under attack and at the very least, they would be forced off the ether-net.
What I want to know is, was this web site one of the sites that were vetted by the Obama campaign to cover the Obama nominating convention?