(CNN) -- Colorado authorities used a search warrant on Friday to locate and detain a Florida man who posted an anonymous threat in an America Online chat room against Columbine High School.

Besides serving AOL with a warrant to find the author's identity, could police or prosecutors hold the Internet service provider liable for threats made by a user?

Because of the Communications Decency Act, the answer is no, said Ari Schwartz, a policy analyst with the Center For Democracy and Technology. "An ISP is a forum for speech, but not the publisher of that speech, so it's not held liable."

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While an ISP is not legally accountable for threats on the Internet, the person who made them is, according to Schwartz.

Free speech proponents like the American Civil Liberties Union have successfully challenged most sections of the 1994 law, calling them illegal constraints to the First Amendment.

But the courts have upheld the section of the law dealing with threats made on the Internet. "Making a threat online is not constitutionally protected speech," Schwartz said.

The Internet appears to offer the authors of anonymous threats an electronic veil to avoid detection, but it doesn't. If the police have a search warrant, ISPs are required to turn over information requested about their users.

"There's an expectation that people are anonymous when staying online. In reality, that's not the case. They can be traced, and held accountable for what they say online. People should be aware of that," Schwartz said.

In contrast to criminal cases, ISP legal protocols in civil proceedings are not as clear. While most or all companies will turn over information if it is subpoenaed, others, like AOL, also notify the users if someone asks for it, he said.

For its part, AOL, with millions of members, cannot monitor all conversations. "There is no way we can watch every message or chat room between members," said Nicholas Graham, an AOL spokesperson in Dulles, Virginia. Nor would it in many cases, like with private instant messages between two members.

Graham adds that AOL has volunteers to make sure chat room participants refrain from offensive or violent language. Violators are warned and those that persist are removed from the rooms. Persistent or serious violators are kicked out of AOL service, he said.

"We work hard to guard the privacy of members," but if the circumstances warrant, "we would cooperate with authorities, whether local or federal," he said.

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RELATED SITES:

The Daily Camera: Tragedy at Columbine
Columbine High School
Violence Policy Center
&bnsp; Fact Sheet on Colorado School Shooting
School violence
CDC: Facts About Violence Among Youth

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