We’ve heard about the perils of social networking related to
things like your job search and college applications, but there’s something
else to consider. Let’s put it this way:
You have the right to remain offline. Anything you post
online can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right
to speak to an attorney. If you lie to this attorney, the truth will be
discovered on your many social networking pages. Do you understand these rights
as they have been read to you?
Here are a few cases in which the plaintiffs were caught
lying in court. They explained one version of their story to a judge, but were
quickly found to be lying. Who ratted on these innocent plaintiffs? Their own
social networking pages, that’s who.
Sedie vs. U.S.
The plaintiff in this case was hit by a postal truck while
riding his bicycle. In court, he claimed that, “he spends much of his time
lying down, and there are times that he does not leave his room because he is
depressed about his overall situation.”
Unfortunately, he complained to MySpace about getting his
arm hairs caught in paint while painting (yes, you read that right). Painting
was one of the activities that the plaintiff claimed he’d been unable to do
since the accident. The plaintiff told the court he was just kidding about the
whole painting thing, but the judge didn’t buy it.
People vs. Franco
In a much less funny case, the plaintiff Franco was on trial
for vehicular manslaughter because she had been racing her Mustang on the
freeway, and had caused the person she was racing to lose control of his
vehicle, flip it, and be killed.
Franco’s excuse was that she was driving properly, but that her victim
had been tailgating her.
But of course, on her MySpace page just the day before,
Franco had written, “If you find me on the freeway and you can keep up I have a
really bad habit of racing random people.” And an even worse habit of causing
the accident that takes that random person’s life. Oops.
Here’s what you need
to know: Anything you delete from your social networking sites (pictures,
words, etc.) can still be found online for about 90 days after the deletion.
Facebook, in particular, holds onto these deleted items for 90 days before they
are completely removed from the site. The rule of thumb is simple: Don’t put
anything personal on social networking sites that you don’t want anyone and
everyone to have access to, especially if you're pretty sure you're going to wind up in court some day. You know you are.
[Technology & Marketing Law Blog]
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