Social Media has become a double edged sword for the 21st century. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc... has made it so much easier for old friends to reconnect and professionals to network. However, let me emphasize again, beware of what you post on these websites, it might come back to haunt you. Take for example, the latest from our Northern American neighbor.
In Canada, a Manulife Insurance policy holder claims that her sick-leave benefits were terminated after several photos of herself appeared on Facebook. The policy holder was out on sick-leave due to depression and the photos that were posted on Facebook appear to show the policy holder having a good time at a Chippendales bar show. Whether or not that was a reason, or the only reason that Manulife terminated the policy holder's sick leave, the moral of the story is do not make any Social Media posts or link to any posts or photos that can ever be utilized against you.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tweeters Beware: Google Is Archiving All Tweets
Do you remember the scene from the movie Swingers where Jon Favreau's character Mikey makes multiple phone calls to a Nikki, a woman that he met earlier that night at the Dresden and embarrasses himself so thoroughly that she tells him to never call him again? Whether Mikey was "Drunk Dialing" or not, when the movie was made in 1996 there was not a chance of his actions being disseminated to the entire world.
Fast Forward to 2009. Now imagine if you start "Drunk Tweeting" or "Drunk Facebooking." Instead of only one person knowing about an episode in your life that you may want to forget, all Internet users may now be able to access this information because Google is now archiving all tweets. This may not only lead to future embarrassing situations, it will also drastically increase the cost of E-Discovery. As a take off from a saying that some have attributed to Mark Twain, "It is better to keep your tweets to a minimum and be thought a twit than to tweet all night and remove all doubt."
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Fast Forward to 2009. Now imagine if you start "Drunk Tweeting" or "Drunk Facebooking." Instead of only one person knowing about an episode in your life that you may want to forget, all Internet users may now be able to access this information because Google is now archiving all tweets. This may not only lead to future embarrassing situations, it will also drastically increase the cost of E-Discovery. As a take off from a saying that some have attributed to Mark Twain, "It is better to keep your tweets to a minimum and be thought a twit than to tweet all night and remove all doubt."
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Courtney Love Is Being Sued For Her Tweets
Courtney Love is being sued by fashion designed Dawn Simorangkir after Ms.Love allegedly posted false and derogatory statements about Ms. Simorangkir on Twitter. According to CNN, Ms. Love made the alleged libelous statements after she had a disagreement with Ms. Simorangkir regarding the cost of Ms. Simorangkir's services.
The bottom line is that social media users should avoid posting content that may be considered libel. Insurance companies who provide Social Media Insurance or Social Networking Insurance for active Tweeters, Bloggers, and Facebookers would be wise to capitalize on the market's need for this type of insurance sooner rather than later. Social Media Insurance will one day be as common as an insurance rider for personal articles.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
The bottom line is that social media users should avoid posting content that may be considered libel. Insurance companies who provide Social Media Insurance or Social Networking Insurance for active Tweeters, Bloggers, and Facebookers would be wise to capitalize on the market's need for this type of insurance sooner rather than later. Social Media Insurance will one day be as common as an insurance rider for personal articles.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Facebook Acts As An Alibi For A Brooklyn, New York Teenager
Social Media is being used everyday by the police and prosecutors as evidence in court. Up until now, Social Media and Social Networking usage has been primarily used as evidence against defendants. However, in what may be the first highly publicized defense usuage, a Brooklyn, New York teenager was able to utilize Facebook as an alibi when he was accused of a crime.
According to the The New York Times, the teenager was incorrectly identified by a victim as a robbery suspect. Fortunately, the teenager was an active Facebook user and was on Facebook at his family's home computer at the same time that the alleged crime occurred. Due to the electronic evidence from the Facebook post, prosecutors dropped the charges and the teenager was freed from Riker's Island, one of the most dangerous prisons in the country.
Some skeptics may point out that someone else may have used the teenager's account to make the post to create an alibi. And others may state that a savvy techie can figure out a way to be in two places at once. That is always the possibility in any case. However, the bottom line is that Social Media is here to stay and police, prosecutors, judges, juries, and defense attorneys need to learn how to incorporate it into the U.S. Justice System.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
According to the The New York Times, the teenager was incorrectly identified by a victim as a robbery suspect. Fortunately, the teenager was an active Facebook user and was on Facebook at his family's home computer at the same time that the alleged crime occurred. Due to the electronic evidence from the Facebook post, prosecutors dropped the charges and the teenager was freed from Riker's Island, one of the most dangerous prisons in the country.
Some skeptics may point out that someone else may have used the teenager's account to make the post to create an alibi. And others may state that a savvy techie can figure out a way to be in two places at once. That is always the possibility in any case. However, the bottom line is that Social Media is here to stay and police, prosecutors, judges, juries, and defense attorneys need to learn how to incorporate it into the U.S. Justice System.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Did Letterman's Alleged Blackmailer Register The "Screenplay?"
This morning The Today Show aired a piece on the alleged bribery of David Letterman by Robert Halderman. Halderman's attorney Gerald Shargel made an extremely novel and interesting argument. Mr. Shargel stated that Halderman was merely offering Letterman the first opportunity to buy a "screenplay" that included alleged damaging information about Letterman's private life. Halderman purportedly offered to sell Letterman the "screenplay" for $2,000,000.
Mr. Shargel's argument might be a winning one if some of the following questions were first answered: Did Halderman register his "screenplay" with the U.S. Copyright Office? How about the Writer's Guild? What type of social media promotion plan did Halderman have to promote his project if Letterman did not want to buy it? Was Halderman shopping his "screenplay" around to any other potential buyers?
It costs $35 to register a work online with the U.S. Copyright Office and at most $22 to register a work with the Writers Guild of America East. If Halderman registered his "screenplay" with either of these organizations his argument that he was merely offering Letterman a first crack at his work may be successful. However, if the "screenplay" was not registered, I do not believe that the argument his attorney mentioned this morning will be a winning one. If this purported screenplay had widespread commercial value Halderman would have taken the steps necessary to protect his intellectual property.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Mr. Shargel's argument might be a winning one if some of the following questions were first answered: Did Halderman register his "screenplay" with the U.S. Copyright Office? How about the Writer's Guild? What type of social media promotion plan did Halderman have to promote his project if Letterman did not want to buy it? Was Halderman shopping his "screenplay" around to any other potential buyers?
It costs $35 to register a work online with the U.S. Copyright Office and at most $22 to register a work with the Writers Guild of America East. If Halderman registered his "screenplay" with either of these organizations his argument that he was merely offering Letterman a first crack at his work may be successful. However, if the "screenplay" was not registered, I do not believe that the argument his attorney mentioned this morning will be a winning one. If this purported screenplay had widespread commercial value Halderman would have taken the steps necessary to protect his intellectual property.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sex, Sexting, Lies, Videotape, and Carrie Prejean
Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California who has been ostracized by many in the media since celebrity blogger Perez Hilton "outed" her as a woman whom many would consider does not have liberal opinions, has recently ended her legal fight with the Miss California Pageant. In many articles, it has been reported that Ms. Prejean ended the legal wrangling after the pageant obtained a purported sex tape that included Ms. Prejean.
According to Ms. Prejean's interview on The Today Show, the sex tape that has been in the media the past week is what would now be called a "sexting" tape. In The Today Show interview, Ms. Prejean stated that she was 17 years old when the tape was made, she is the only person in the tape, and she made the tape to send only to her boyfriend. In other words, not nearly as salacious as the press has hyped it to be.
This situation highlights that nobody can hide from their past. In general, I believe that almost everyone deserves a second chance because everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, Social Media and the Internet can destroy one's reputation almost instantly. It is important to understand your rights when you are being filmed and photographed, and when you are posting to the Internet. Even if you understand your rights, you must realize that once something is released onto the Internet, even if it is an unauthorized release, it can never be fully retrieved.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
According to Ms. Prejean's interview on The Today Show, the sex tape that has been in the media the past week is what would now be called a "sexting" tape. In The Today Show interview, Ms. Prejean stated that she was 17 years old when the tape was made, she is the only person in the tape, and she made the tape to send only to her boyfriend. In other words, not nearly as salacious as the press has hyped it to be.
This situation highlights that nobody can hide from their past. In general, I believe that almost everyone deserves a second chance because everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, Social Media and the Internet can destroy one's reputation almost instantly. It is important to understand your rights when you are being filmed and photographed, and when you are posting to the Internet. Even if you understand your rights, you must realize that once something is released onto the Internet, even if it is an unauthorized release, it can never be fully retrieved.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Facebook Sued For Allegedly Violating the Video Privacy Protection Act
Social Media website Facebook was recently sued along with Blockbuster for breaking the Video Privacy Protection Act (USC Title 18 Section 2710) because Facebook was making some type of public notation every time a Texas woman was renting a video from Blockbuster. Apparently, Facebook and Blockbuster had or have some type of partnership that involves an information sharing agreement that allowed video rental information to be shared without the Facebook user's authorization or ability to opt out.
Facebook's information sharing problem was partly due to its Beacon Advertising System that is supposedly being discontinued. Beacon was initially designed as an opt out instead of an opt in system. Therefore, Facebook users needed to be extremely vigilant to keep their personal information private.
The proliferation of social media and social networking sites has made it difficult to keep one's personal details private. Unfortunately, unless there is some type of consumer backlash that forces Congress to pass strong legislation that sets an enforcement mechanism that includes stiff penalties, this type of information sharing will dramatically increase in the near future.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Facebook's information sharing problem was partly due to its Beacon Advertising System that is supposedly being discontinued. Beacon was initially designed as an opt out instead of an opt in system. Therefore, Facebook users needed to be extremely vigilant to keep their personal information private.
The proliferation of social media and social networking sites has made it difficult to keep one's personal details private. Unfortunately, unless there is some type of consumer backlash that forces Congress to pass strong legislation that sets an enforcement mechanism that includes stiff penalties, this type of information sharing will dramatically increase in the near future.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Google Book Settlement Angers Chinese Authors
I have written extensively on this blog that the biggest beneficiary of the Google Book Settlement as it is currently configured is Google. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Did I just say that or was that my Gomer Pyle impression? Fortunately, the U.S. Deparment of Justice and the U.S. Copyright Office has strenuously objected to the settlement and the parties are back at the negotiating table. According to the New York Times, the current settlement may create some international difficulties for the U.S. because the proposed settlement may affect authors whose rights are protected under various international treaties. I am not surprised that international authors are against the proposed settlement. I am just a bit surprised that it has taken so long for the international community to become mobilized.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Employers Are Using Social Media to Reject Job Applicants
The current economic climate has been extremely brutal across the country. In many industries, a paradigm shift has occurred and thousands of jobs that have been cut will never re-appear when the economy recovers. Those companies that are hiring have a large pool of candidates to choose from. However, having the "pick of the litter" is not good enough for some employers. According to an article on MSNBC.com, some employers are not just reviewing the information that an applicant has provided, but they are also diving deep into the candidate's social media background to find people to contact that may have some "dirt" on a candidate. This is only a breach of protocol from the normal process and not illegal. However, some companies are now requiring as part of the interview process that a candidate sign a waiver not to sue if a former boss or a social media contact disparages a candidate. While the former is just sneaky, the later is downright disgusting and should be against the law.
People who need a job will sign almost anything when they are in a vulnerable position. A waiver may provide immunity to an "off-list" reference to say anything about the candidate whether true or not. When the reference is someone a candidate has chosen there usually is not much to worry about. However, this type of waiver may be forced upon a candidate for every single "friend" or "connection" that a person has in their social media accounts.
I am generally against Congress interfering with our daily lives. However, this is the type of situation if allowed to become a generally accepted business practice could undermine people's ability to obtain a job or even keep a job. Therefore, before this type of practice becomes widespread, Congress needs to step in to stop it dead in its tracks.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
People who need a job will sign almost anything when they are in a vulnerable position. A waiver may provide immunity to an "off-list" reference to say anything about the candidate whether true or not. When the reference is someone a candidate has chosen there usually is not much to worry about. However, this type of waiver may be forced upon a candidate for every single "friend" or "connection" that a person has in their social media accounts.
I am generally against Congress interfering with our daily lives. However, this is the type of situation if allowed to become a generally accepted business practice could undermine people's ability to obtain a job or even keep a job. Therefore, before this type of practice becomes widespread, Congress needs to step in to stop it dead in its tracks.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
NFL Fights Over Access To College Game Day Content
The NFL is currently in a standoff with the company that video records college football games for eight conferences and then delivers it digitally to the NFL. The content is primarily utilized by the NFL's College Advisory Committee to form an official opinion on college juniors who are thinking about entering the NFL draft before their college eligibility is exhausted. The College Advisory Committee acts as another source for potential early entrants to the NFL draft because without this committee prospects would only be able to obtain information about their possible draft prospects from sports agents and their college football coaches.
The company that creates the content and then delivers it to the NFL, XOS Technologies, has reportedly made a mulit-million dollar rights fee request on behalf of the college football conferences it works with to the NFL for content that was previously delivered free. The College Advisory Committee is made up of participants from each NFL team and it provides a draft opinion of college underclassmen. This arrangement has provided college juniors an opinion that is not biased by the opposing interests that sports agents and college coaches inherently possess. The analysis that the College Advisory Committee provides is mutually beneficially to both the NFL and to underclassmen. Potential draft prospects are able to obtain a professional opinion about their readiness for the NFL while the NFL has been able to scout potential draft picks with free access to game day tapes.
From a legal and business perspective, there are several issues that need to be determined. What is the monetary value of the game tapes to the NFL? Who owns the rights to these game day tapes? Does the conference own the game day content or do the two schools who play the game own the rights? If the content is used for purposes other than talent evaluation, such as for entertainment or analysis on the NFL Network, what is the value of this use? If a college underclassman would like to obtain the game day tapes and post clips on a social media website to promote himself can the player also obtain the rights for this use? How much is the College Advisory Committee's talent evaluation services worth to college football programs and their players?
These questions need to be answered sooner rather than later because there is a high probability that a larger number of juniors than usual will declare themselves available for the upcoming NFL draft due to the possibility that a new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement that is in the initial stages of negotiation may put some type of cap on rookie salaries.
In my opinion, the NFL should pay some type of fee for the game day tapes depending on the type of rights that are granted. Since NFL teams pay tens of millions of dollars to top draft picks, game day tapes are very valuable in the evaluation process. I do not believe it would be practical to charge potential draftees for an independent evaluation because most likely they could not afford the cost of the review. However, I think some type of deal should be worked out that would allow a player to obtain game day content that would allow them to directly promote themselves on social media websites.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
The company that creates the content and then delivers it to the NFL, XOS Technologies, has reportedly made a mulit-million dollar rights fee request on behalf of the college football conferences it works with to the NFL for content that was previously delivered free. The College Advisory Committee is made up of participants from each NFL team and it provides a draft opinion of college underclassmen. This arrangement has provided college juniors an opinion that is not biased by the opposing interests that sports agents and college coaches inherently possess. The analysis that the College Advisory Committee provides is mutually beneficially to both the NFL and to underclassmen. Potential draft prospects are able to obtain a professional opinion about their readiness for the NFL while the NFL has been able to scout potential draft picks with free access to game day tapes.
From a legal and business perspective, there are several issues that need to be determined. What is the monetary value of the game tapes to the NFL? Who owns the rights to these game day tapes? Does the conference own the game day content or do the two schools who play the game own the rights? If the content is used for purposes other than talent evaluation, such as for entertainment or analysis on the NFL Network, what is the value of this use? If a college underclassman would like to obtain the game day tapes and post clips on a social media website to promote himself can the player also obtain the rights for this use? How much is the College Advisory Committee's talent evaluation services worth to college football programs and their players?
These questions need to be answered sooner rather than later because there is a high probability that a larger number of juniors than usual will declare themselves available for the upcoming NFL draft due to the possibility that a new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement that is in the initial stages of negotiation may put some type of cap on rookie salaries.
In my opinion, the NFL should pay some type of fee for the game day tapes depending on the type of rights that are granted. Since NFL teams pay tens of millions of dollars to top draft picks, game day tapes are very valuable in the evaluation process. I do not believe it would be practical to charge potential draftees for an independent evaluation because most likely they could not afford the cost of the review. However, I think some type of deal should be worked out that would allow a player to obtain game day content that would allow them to directly promote themselves on social media websites.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
FTC May Back Down On Some Of The Proposed Social Media Rules
According to the Wall Street Journal, the FTC may back down from its initial indication that it would bring enforcement actions against bloggers and individuals who comment about products or services without full disclosure. The FTC has indicated that they plan to focus on advertisers and companies instead.
This turnaround demonstrates the power of social media and the "modern day petition." In a previous post, I mentioned that I was not pleased with all of the proposed changes. I admit that the rules needed to be updated since the last update was in 1980. However, some of the proposed rules are still too broad and ambiguous, and should be changed. I am hoping that people continue to let the FTC know how they feel about this issue before it becomes effective because an ambiguous new rule is worse than an old outdated rule that is generally easy to understand and implement.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
This turnaround demonstrates the power of social media and the "modern day petition." In a previous post, I mentioned that I was not pleased with all of the proposed changes. I admit that the rules needed to be updated since the last update was in 1980. However, some of the proposed rules are still too broad and ambiguous, and should be changed. I am hoping that people continue to let the FTC know how they feel about this issue before it becomes effective because an ambiguous new rule is worse than an old outdated rule that is generally easy to understand and implement.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Sex Crimes, Stickam.com, and Social Media
Stickam.com is a live video web site that according to the New York Times is owned by a Japanese based pornographer. According to Stickam.com's Frequently Aasked Question Page, it is a free live video service and social network that allows a user to stream live video over the Internet. However, Stickam.com is also being used to showcase the work of alleged rapists and other criminals.
This past year, there have been several arrests of the website's users based upon video that was uploaded onto the site. Each arrested user is accused of uploading video of a sexual crime that the user participated in. Unfortunately, a website such as Stickam.com is just one avenue that sexual predators utilize. As anyone who has watched NBC's Chris Hanson's "To Catch a Predator" specials or Law and Order: SVU knows, this type of behavior occurs more than most people realize. Law enforcement is so overwhelmed and most websites are understaffed and focused on generating revenue and not policing their web site. Therefore, this type of behavior can fall through the cracks unless concerned website users notify the website and the proper authorities. Since 9/11/2001, the the New York City subway's safety slogan has been, "[i]f you see something say something" and I believe this slogan should be extended to the Internet.
In Stickam.com's defense, the website self reported some of these alleged criminal acts to the police, disabled the alleged rapists accounts, and removed the content that allegedly shows a crime being committed. I am not trying to defend Stickam.com's website, but these types of websites are common on the Internet and generally it is up to the users of social media to police the content available and notify the proper authorities when it is alleged that a crime has been committed by a fellow user.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
This past year, there have been several arrests of the website's users based upon video that was uploaded onto the site. Each arrested user is accused of uploading video of a sexual crime that the user participated in. Unfortunately, a website such as Stickam.com is just one avenue that sexual predators utilize. As anyone who has watched NBC's Chris Hanson's "To Catch a Predator" specials or Law and Order: SVU knows, this type of behavior occurs more than most people realize. Law enforcement is so overwhelmed and most websites are understaffed and focused on generating revenue and not policing their web site. Therefore, this type of behavior can fall through the cracks unless concerned website users notify the website and the proper authorities. Since 9/11/2001, the the New York City subway's safety slogan has been, "[i]f you see something say something" and I believe this slogan should be extended to the Internet.
In Stickam.com's defense, the website self reported some of these alleged criminal acts to the police, disabled the alleged rapists accounts, and removed the content that allegedly shows a crime being committed. I am not trying to defend Stickam.com's website, but these types of websites are common on the Internet and generally it is up to the users of social media to police the content available and notify the proper authorities when it is alleged that a crime has been committed by a fellow user.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
NBA Star Wins Internet Domain Fight
The Toronto Raptors' forward Chris Bosh sued a cybersquatter for the rights to www.chrisbosh.com and 800 other athlete and celebrity domain names. Mr. Bosh won his fight against Hoopology.com (I refuse to provide a link for this site because I do not like cybersquatters) for his domain name and 800 others. Cybersquatters usually buy a domain name in the hopes of either selling it to its rightful owner or to profit off the likeness of the rightful owner.
It appears that this is the first time that a court has awarded third-party domain names to a plaintiff. Mr. Bosh has stated that he intends to return the domain names to their rightful owners without compensation. Great news. Despite what some people think, this proves that not all NBA players are selfish "show me the money" people.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
It appears that this is the first time that a court has awarded third-party domain names to a plaintiff. Mr. Bosh has stated that he intends to return the domain names to their rightful owners without compensation. Great news. Despite what some people think, this proves that not all NBA players are selfish "show me the money" people.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Social Media Fraud
One of the biggest problems that social media companies have encountered with the rise of the popularity of social media is the rise of social media fraud. According to the Wall Street Journal, one of the biggest problems that companies are encountering occurs when criminals create fake urls that are made to look like legitimate websites. This occurs when a criminal creates a url that has a name that impersonates a real entity. However, when the url is clicked, the user is directed to another website that is created to obtain the user name, password and other identifying information of the user.
There is no way to stop this behavior. If a hacker has the right tools and the determination, he will be successful in breaking into your computer, website, or blog. The only way to avoid becoming a victim is to be careful about the websites you visit and ensuring that you have current security software installed on your computer or network. Even with these precautions you can still become a victim of this type of fraud.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
There is no way to stop this behavior. If a hacker has the right tools and the determination, he will be successful in breaking into your computer, website, or blog. The only way to avoid becoming a victim is to be careful about the websites you visit and ensuring that you have current security software installed on your computer or network. Even with these precautions you can still become a victim of this type of fraud.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Flight Attendant Utilizes Facebook To Harrass 15 Year Old Female Passenger
We have only seen the tip of the iceberg regarding social media harrassment or misuse. Australian Airline Jetstar has a male flight attendant who thought that it was socially acceptable to try to "friend" on Facebook a 15 year old female passenger. It appears that the airline employee obtained the female's name from her boarding pass.
This story reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets the phone number of a woman he wants (and whom appears interested in him) to date off of an AIDS Walk list. At the time of the episode's original broadcast, this type of "ingenuity" was not socially acceptable and Jerry could not stop thinking about what would happen if the woman found out how he acquired her phone number. However, Jerry did not use private information that only an employee of a company could utilize to try to obtain a phone number.
Even though this occurred in Australia, and there has not been any litigation yet, I believe that this type of behavior has occurred in the United and will occur again here. I predict that there is going to be a tremendous amount of litigation in the future regarding social media misuse.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
This story reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets the phone number of a woman he wants (and whom appears interested in him) to date off of an AIDS Walk list. At the time of the episode's original broadcast, this type of "ingenuity" was not socially acceptable and Jerry could not stop thinking about what would happen if the woman found out how he acquired her phone number. However, Jerry did not use private information that only an employee of a company could utilize to try to obtain a phone number.
Even though this occurred in Australia, and there has not been any litigation yet, I believe that this type of behavior has occurred in the United and will occur again here. I predict that there is going to be a tremendous amount of litigation in the future regarding social media misuse.
Copyright 2009 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
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