Social media the new revolutionary pamphlet

While conceding that the social media did not cause the Egyptian revolution, Sam Gustin in Wired writes that the social media made significant contributions to the revolution’s success, a development that offers hope to repressed peoples of the Middle East. Gustin quotes Sascha Meinrath of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative: “In the same [...]

California appeals court upholds order requiring juror to release his online postings

After a jury foreman wrote on Facebook during the trial of alleged gang members that the proceedings were boring, defense attorneys issued subpoenas to Facebook and the foreman for the postings. The judge ordered the foreman to authorize Facebook to release the postings. That order was upheld by the appeals court without comment. -db From [...]

Ambulance company settles with NLRB over employee’s Facebook posting

American Medical Response of Connecticut agreed to settle a suit brought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after the company fired an employee for criticizing her boss and calling him derogatory names on Facebook. The NLRB contended that the firing was illegal in that employees have the right to discuss workplace issues with fellow [...]

Juror in gang case is contesting judge’s order to turn over Facebook posting

A Sacramento Superior Court judge gave a juror 10 days to comply with an order to turn over postings he made on Facebook last year during a trial concerning a gang beating. Lawyers for the Killa Mobb gang are asking for the postings to make sure that the juror was not biased. A lawyer for [...]

Egypt shuts down Internet in record time

Los Angeles Times January 29, 2011 With a few phone calls to the likes of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the Egyptian government  stymied the social media, effectively limiting its role in organizing the demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak. -db

High school student insulting teacher online gets suspension from school expunged

San Francisco Chronicle January 29, 2010 By Bob Egelko SACRAMENTO COUNTY – A high school sophomore suspended for calling his teacher a “fat ass” on Facebook had the infraction erased from his record after his principal conceded that the posting was not disruptive to the school environment. The American Civil Liberties Union had argued that [...]

Florida student vindicated after suspension for criticizing teacher online

A former student at a Florida high school who was suspended for Facebook posts criticizing a teacher settled with the school district. The district expunged the record of the suspension and paid $15,000 in attorney’s fees. -db Student Press Law Center January 20, 2011 By Aly Brumback FLORIDA – A former Pembroke Pines Charter High [...]

Internet freedom reaffirmed in recent Chicago case

While the Blockowicz parents suffered greatly from scurrilous posts about their daughter, First Amendment Center’s Douglas Lee says their attempt to force a website to remove the posts was rightly denied in federal court thus making the internet “an even freer environment for speech.” -db First Amendment Center Commentary January 27, 2011 By Douglas Lee [...]

Suit filed for alleged online defamation of 13-year-old

Courthouse News Service January 11, 2011 By Bridget Freeland The parents of a seventh grader sued two of their daughter’s classmates and their parents for defamation alleging that the parents allowed their children to hack into the girl’s Gmail, pose as the girl and post “vile, sexual and violent” comments including that the girl was [...]

Federal law may save woman fired for Facebook comments about company and supervisor

All agree that an employee making critical remarks on Facebook about her company and supervisor violated company policy, but did the company violate federal labor law by firing the woman? -db Citizens Media Law Project Commentary December 24, 2010 By Andrew Mirsky A Connecticut company suspended and then fired an employee for making disparaging comments [...]

Facebook juggles civility and free speech in policing site

A special team within Facebook has the difficult job of policing hate and harassment on their site, forming a virtual police squad utilizing unprecedented power to regulate speech. -db The New York Times December 12, 2010 By Miguel Helft PALO ALTO, Calif. — Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, likes to say [...]

Hackers wage war on behalf of WikiLeaks

Hackers have disrupted the Web sites and services of a number of companies including MasterCard, Visa and PayPal for withdrawing services in support of WikiLeaks. -db New York Times December 8, 2010 By Ashlee Vance and Miguel Helft A hacking free-for-all has exploded on the Web, and Facebook and Twitter are stuck in the middle. [...]

Congressional committee attempts censorship of professor’s criticism of Facebook

A chair of a Congressional committee cautioned a law professor about to speak to the committee  to refrain from personal attacks against any companies or company employees. -db Onlne Media Daily Commentary December 3, 2010 By Wendy Davis Columbia Law professor Eben Moglen seemed to have touched a nerve on Capitol Hill this week when [...]

Free speech: Teachers sue Florida school district for social media policy

Some Florida teachers are suing their district in state court on the grounds that a proposed Manatee school district policy violates their free speech rights by prohibiting social media postings of negative comments or photos about the district, employees or students from home or work computers. -db Bradenton Herald November 13, 2010 By Richard Dymond [...]

First Amendment rights: Woman getting boot from Facebook loses federal suit

A federal district judge ruled that a woman kicked off Facebook for friending strangers over cancer awareness had not suffered any loss of her First Amendment rights. -db ABAJournal November 4, 2010 By Debra Cassens Weiss A Maryland woman who got kicked off Facebook won’t be able to pursue her lawsuit under a ruling by [...]

Numbers of candidates’ Facebook fans reflect voting totals in a majority of races

According to numbers provided by Facebook, seventy to eighty percent of the Congressional candidates in hotly contested races who had more Facebook fans than their opponents won seats in this week’s election . -db Los Angeles Times November 3, 2010 By Shan Li For years, anxious teenagers have scoured the social-networking site, convinced that the [...]

Delaware senate candidate O’Donnell claims slandered in Gawker post

Backed by the National Organization for Women, a spokesperson for Delaware senate candidate Christine O’Donnell condemned a post by an anonymous man on  Gawker who claimed  he had a sexual encounter with the candidate. -db Politico October 28, 2010 By Andy Barr Christine O’Donnell’s campaign late Thursday night responded to an anonymous Gawker post claiming [...]

Facebook moms muzzled for potty talk

Facebook says it was only trying to curtail spam-like or abusive postings in harassing and punishing moms who had put up too many postings, too fast, on such vital topics as potty training, sleeping habits of children and G-rated DVDs. -db PC World October 25, 2010 By Ian Paul Some moms, accused of too many [...]

TechCrunch alleges Wall Street Journal withheld articles on MySpace

TechCrunch commentator Michael Arrington says that the Wall Street Journal published some articles recently about an alleged breach of privacy by Facebook but in doing so did not mention their sister company MySpace perhaps because the information might compromise a relaunch of the MySpace site. -db TechCrunch Commentary October 22, 2010 By Michael Arrington A [...]

Florida school board considers restricting teachers’ online speech

The Manatee County School Board in Florida is debating a policy that prohibits teachers from posting comments on sites such as Facebook or Twitter that would put the district, students and teachers in a “negative, scandalous or embarrassing light.” -db Student Press Law Center September 28, 2010 By Chelsea Keenan FLORIDA — The Manatee County [...]

Craigslist’s ‘Adult Services’ decision a blow to free speech?

Craigslist has decided to eplace its “Adult Services” section with a “Censored” bar that blocks content. Does this  limit free speech? MSNBC/ Commentary September 6, 2010 By Athima Chansanchai With Craigslist’s decision to replace its “Adult Services” section of its “Services” classifieds with a “Censored” bar that blocks that content, the online powerhouse has once [...]

Detroit-area juror removed over Facebook post

A judge removed a juror from a trial in suburban Detroit after the young woman wrote on Facebook that the defendant was guilty. The problem? The trial wasn’t over. September 1, 2010 By The Associated Press MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — Hadley Jons could be found in contempt when she returns to the Macomb County circuit [...]

California: Lawsuit against Facebook alleges violation of law forbidding use of minor’s names and faces

A 1971 California law forbids publication of minors’ names and photos in ads without consent of parents, bringing into question Facebook’s use of the “like” button that turns minors into endorsers of brands or ads. -db Onlne Media Daily August 30, 2010 By Wendy Davis A new lawsuit against Facebook for allegedly violating a California [...]

Instruction in social media essential in journalism education

According to an online news pioneer, modern journalism students do not naturally see the social media as an important aspect of their professional repertoire. -db MediaShift August 30, 2010 By Alfred Hermida Social media is such a new phenomenon that it is easy for someone to claim to be an expert in the subject. A [...]

Facebook Fights Privacy Concerns

The launch of Facebook Inc.’s Places location service this week sparked new privacy concerns about the popular social network. But the company’s efforts to mollify critics before the launch stemmed some of the blowback. August 25, 2010 The Wall Street Journal By Geoffrey A. Fowler Places is a feature that lets users share their physical [...]

Google ignites debate about privacy

Internet giant Google has sparked a fiery privacy debate this week by claiming future teenagers will need to change their names when they reach adulthood to escape embarrassing online pasts. The Courier Mail August 20, 2010 By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson In a warning experts have labelled hypocritical, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the company knew “roughly [...]

Facebook brings privacy settings to mobile web

Facebook, which has taken a public relations beating in the past over privacy issues, has enhanced the mobile version of its site to include access to privacy settings. ZDNet News/Internet August 4, 2010 By Sam Diaz This move follows an overhaul to the settings that the company rolled out in May, largely in response to [...]

Cyberbullying case gets no traction in New York state

A New York state judge has ruled that cyberbullying does not constitute defamation and dismissed her suit against her high school classmates who wrote scurrilous statements about her on FaceBook. -db Cyberbullying case gets no traction in New York state Online Media Daily July 26, 2010 By Wendy Davis Writing that a classmate contracted a [...]

How is Social Media Impacting Free Speech Rights?

While social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter increase their user base,  and search engines like Google continue to grow, many wonder if they will become the gatekeepers of information of the future. – SMD Social Media and First Amendment Commentary July 6, 2010 By  Eric Kuhn, CNN Audience Interaction Producer Aspen, Colorado (CNN) – [...]

Middle Eastern countries censoring Internet

Last week Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey acted to block more content from the Internet. Afghanistan is installing filters on the categories of alcohol, dating and social networking, gambling and pornography. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Opinion June 26, 2010 By Shari Steele Yet another country has decided to shut down key parts the Internet. Kathleen Reen [...]

Fired for Facebook protest, worker sues for sexual harassment

A medical technician is seeking damages for civil rights violations, sexual harassment, and assault and battery after her supervisor allegedly harassed and assaulted her. She was fired shortly after a Facebook posting saying her boss need to “keep his creepy hands off” her. -db Courthouse News Service June 1, 2010 By Joe Harris TOPEKA, Kan. [...]

National anti-SLAPP law under consideration in Congress

Congress is considering a national law to protect citizens against baseless defamation suits filed by business or governments to prevent criticism. The stakes are higher in the Internet era when a critical comment about an individual or business posted online can garner widespread attention. -db The New York Times May 31, 2010 By Dan Frosch [...]

Robust journalism emerging amid reports of failed newspapers

Even though newspapers are filing for bankruptcy and laying off reporters, new technology is delivering on its promise to provide the public with more news and in greater detail than ever. -db First Amendment Center Commentary April 18, 2010 By Gene Policinski Headlines — ironically, given this subject — have proclaimed for some time that [...]

Free speech: Marine’s Facebook page protesting Obama health care reform runs afoul of military code

A Marine Corps sergeant has been called to task by his superiors for posting a Facebook page for “Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots” to protest President Barack Obama’s health care reform efforts. -db San Diego Union-Tribune April 13, 2010 By Jeanette Steele A Camp Pendleton Marine is running smack up against the limits of what [...]

University of Chicago censors student facebook post

Continuing a practice of monitoring and censoring student posts on social media, the University of Chicago forced a student to delete comments about a professor from his private Facebook page. -db FIRE Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Commentary March 24, 2010 CHICAGO — For the second time in two years, the University of Chicago [...]

Student First Amendment rights get lost in school’s policing of off-campus postings on social media

A blogger from the Citizen Media Law Project argues that school authorities are over reaching in many instances in punishing students for off-campus speech. In many instances the speech has no disruptive effect on the school or falls short of creating a hostile school environment. -db Citizen Media Law Project Commentary March 17, 2010 By Justin [...]

Courtroom bans on social media spreading across United States

The U.S. court system is rapidly adopting rules against the use of social media in the courtroom. Jurors are increasingly instructed to stay off Facebook and Twitter and refrain from using the Internet to research cases. -db Online Media Daily March 10, 2010 By Laurie Sullivan No tweeting or status updates in court or deliberation [...]

Facebook threatens to sue British newspaper over false claim about sex and teen-age girls

Facebook is concerned that its reputation was permanently damaged by a claim in the Daily Mail that seconds after 14-year-old girls posted a profile on Facebook that older men could approach them who “wanted to perform a sex act” in front of them. Daily Mail apologized for the error. -db Guardian March 11, 2010 By [...]

International internet freedom gets boost in latest regulations proposed by Obama administration

The U.S. Treasury Department announced changes in its sanctions against Cuba, Iran and the Sudan which allows internet service to these countries even when they are under U.S. sanctions. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary March 10, 2010 By Danny O’Brien The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Monday key amendments to the [...]

Bandwidth problems threaten to curtail military’s social networking

The Pentagon is allowing the troops to use such sites as Facebook and Twitter, but it may be difficult for them to actually sign on since, especially in places like Afghanistan, bandwidth is limited. -db The Hill March 1, 2010 By Tony Romm Trouble with the Pentagon’s strapped Web network could threaten its new decision [...]

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