Digital Miranada Warning: IAC Executive Learns The Hard Way That You Have the Right To Remain Silent Online

Too many people don't understand the power of social media.  Fortune 500 executives, professional athletes, student-athletes, students, entertainers, politicians, etc... have all gotten into hot water because of their digital usage.  I regularly counsel members of these groups about the legal, business, and reputational challengers inherent with social media and other digital communication tools and it pains me whenever I hear about someone posting something online that may destroy their professional career. 

The latest Tweet that has gone viral and may be a career killer was posted on an account allegedly utilized by pr executive Justine Sacco of IAC.  She allegedly wrote while en route to Africa, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS.  Just Kidding.  I'm white!"  By the time Ms. Sacco's plane landed, this message on her account went viral and caused a pr nightmare for herself and her employer IAC.

Too many self styled "branding experts", "social media consultants", etc.. advise people to share too many personal opinions online.  I disagree with this advice and generally agree with Mark Twain's adage, " [i]t is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#STC0rGBGPI5OUGP7.99

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#qG8bQHKbUMwqmy7s.99

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#qG8bQHKbUMwqmy7s.99

Internet users may want to learn about my Digital Miranda Warning that is a take off of the criminal law Miranda Warning that suspects are provided. The Miranda Warning states, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with me?"

My Digital Miranda Warning sates, "You have the right to post online.  Anything you post online can and will be used against you by employers, schools, the media, etc....  You have the right not to post online.  If you feel compelled to post, don't upload anything that may make you look unprofessional.  With these rights in mind, do you still wish to post online?"

While my Digital Miranda Warning has saved some of my clients from digital career destruction, my hope is that more people become educated about the risks associated with utilizing social media before their online behavior destroys their reputation.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Snapchat iOS Update May Be A Danger To Privacy

Privacy is in vogue.  I believe Mark Zuckerberg's so called "Law of Information Sharing" is dead. While we as a society may continue to share more information online via social media, the cloud, apps, email, etc... people are more aware of the dangers of sharing too much so they are changing their behavior accordingly. 

Facebook recently admitting that younger teens are using their platform less.  Why? The answer is debatable; however, I believe it has something to do with parents, employers, schools, the police, governments, etc... wanting access to their personal digital content.  To help users believe the content they send online is safe from prying eyes multiple apps and other digital services have popped up that claim that user privacy is built in by design.  One of the most popular apps that claim they are built with privacy in mind is Snapchat.

Snapchat has become so popular that it was recently reported that Facebook tried to acquire the company for $3 billion dollars and Google may have offered $4 billion dollars.  There are allegedly 400 million snaps (images sent via Snapchat) received daily on the platform apparently because users believe their content is safer sent via Snapchat than through other services.

While Snapchat offers some better privacy protections than other content sharing apps due to its allegedly disappearing photo offering, its latest iOS update Replay feature actually endangers user privacy by allowing an image to be re-viewed at a later time.  In general, when opening a snap you don't have another image capturing device handy to take an image of the snap being viewed.  Usually, one opens a snap and it disappears after several seconds.  No harm, no foul unless the receiver has another image capturing device handy.  With the new Replay option enabled, if someone sends a  nude selfie or other potentially scandalous image, the receiver now may have plenty of time to have another device ready to capture the image.

Before this iOS update, images sent via Snapchat could be re-purposed beyond their intended usage and there have been some publicized incidents of snaps creating problems for those in the image(s).   For example, a Missouri mom is in legal trouble and was recently charged with endangering the welfare of a child (one of her kids) due to a topless photo her daughter took of her that was sent via Snapchat.  This case demonstrates the potential dangers users may encounter when taking personal photographs/videos and disseminating the images via digital platforms; even through Snapchat.

Providing a "second bite at the apple" to view content that a user has deemed "Snapable" or more private than images shared via Facebook is a danger to privacy.  Once content is digitized, it can potentially be sent anywhere in the world and saved for an infinite period of time.  Allowing more opportunities to view potentially scandalous content may put users' privacy at risk.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.