The instant delivery of e-mail has left many wondering if mail delivered via the U.S. Postal Service is slowly becoming a dying breed. In an attempt to revolutionize the process of receiving snail mail, Outbox, a start-up company with customers in Austin, Texas and San Francisco, California, has developed an application to digitize physical mail.
By subscribing to Outbox, for just $4.99 a month, customers can have their physical mail delivered digitally to a mobile device or computer. Outbox operates by having a driver, referred to as an “unpostman,” visit subscribers homes three times a week. The “unpostman” collects the physical mail delivered to subscribers’ mailboxes by official postal workers and delivers the mail to a warehouse. At the warehouse, the mail is opened and photographed. Subsequently, the digital files are sent to the subscriber’s tablet through the Outbox website, iPad, or iPhone apps.
While advantages include getting rid of the need to sort through physical junk mail, the ability to categorize mail on your computer or mobile devices, and access to your physical mail while traveling, there are legal obstacles in the way of the success of Outbox. Tampering with mail is a federal offense. According to 18 U.S.C.A. ยง1705, “Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.” Therefore, there might be legal questions surrounding a third party removing mail from a mailbox even if there was consent. In response to the issue of mail tampering, Will Davis, the co-founder of Outbox, argues that “once a piece of mail has been delivered, it becomes just another unregulated piece of paper.”
Furthermore, legal issues about privacy might arise due to the fact that Outbox employees will be opening, photographing, and digitally sending mail containing financial and personal information. In response to privacy concerns, Outbox has responded by saying that their employees go through more extensive background checks than U.S. Postal service employees. Additionally, Outbox uses an encryption device to ensure the digitized mail is sent to the intended recipient.
While there have been no legal challenges, the above issues could arise in litigation if Outbox becomes a successful company that poses a threat to the business of the U.S. Postal Service or if secure financial or personal information is leaked. In addition to possible legal issues, the time lag for customers who could just go to their mailbox and get the mail instead of waiting for it to be sent to them digitally, presents another problem to Outbox. Thus, while Outbox presents a novel idea, it is premature to say the age of digitized postal mail has arrived.