There are those out there that think it is still their private thought or opinion when they post items to the web. This is a reminder, if you post it, it can be found and is public. Call, email, FedEx if you want to keep it under wraps a bit better. Remember what your mom told you, "If you want to keep it a secret, don't tell anyone." This story struck me as a big "oh duh!" moment.
Privacy Issues with Online Social Networks - from dubofflaw.com
Do you post on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social
networking sites? A recent ruling by the Superior Court of Fresno
County cautions Internet users about the lack of privacy inherent in
the use of such sites.
The
woman's family still lived in Coalinga and claimed that as a result of
the newspaper's publication of the Ode, they received death threats and
their home was shot at. They also claimed that the father's business
lost so much money it had to be closed. Morena and her family sued the
principal and the school district as well as the newspaper and its
publishers for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
The appellate court noted that Moreno had
"made her article available to any person with a computer and thus
opened it to the public eye" and went on to say that "under these
circumstances, no reasonable person would have had an expectation of
privacy regarding the published material." The court pointed out that
although Morena had used only her first name on her online journal, her
identity was "readily ascertainable" from her MySpace page, which
included a photograph of Moreno.
While most of us are aware
that Internet postings are not private, this case serves as a reminder
that unless your settings provide for limited access, you should be
extremely careful when using social networking sites.
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