New Technology...Same Old Law

November 18, 2009 by Anthony Vargas
Posted in:

Can the law keep up with technology? - CNN.com

Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become popular forums for users to air their grievances. However, users are beginning to realize that the same rules of libel that apply to old print media also apply to the new social platforms.

An Illinois Real Estate Firm filed a libel claim against one of its tenants after the tentant allegedly posted the following "tweet" on Twitter: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks it's okay."  Horizon Management LLC is seeking $50,000 in damages for the alleged tweet.

CNN.com asks "how should a libel case be handled when it comes to social media? How can society balance accountability with free speech? And if information -- from private thoughts to public data -- is so readily available, how do we define what constitutes privacy?"

Are users of social media allowed to sue for private information and pictures falling into the hands of those that the user never intended?  For instance, is a prospective employee allowed to recover damages because a Google search by the employer turns up evidence of a regrettable weekend in Las Vegas, and as a result the employer rescinds the job offer (it turns out not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas). It would not be surprising if the courts take a "volenta non fit injura" approach, "the volunteer suffers no wrong." By posting the pictures online, the user should reasonably expect that anyone can see them.

Jeffrey Rosen, law professor at the George Washington University, seems to agree. Rosen says that "we should never expect that the judges are going to save us from our own worse impulses."

One thing is for certain: the next few years will produce some interesting cases for the courts to decide.

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