You may have heard recently about the woman in New Jersey who came under prosecution for identity theft after posing as her ex-boyfriend online, via a Facebook page she created in his name in order to harm his reputation. Or perhaps you caught the story about the Florida man who hacked over fifty phones and computers, including many celebrities, in order to access private messages (pics, texts, emails, and so on); he was caught after posting nude photos of Scarlett Johansson online. And then there was the closure of Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid magazine News of the World, which was shut down after reports that employees had been illegally hacking celebrity phones in order to gain access to private messages (although it was the hacking of a kidnapped girl’s phone that really got them into hot water).
In fact, it is becoming more and more apparent that people just can’t handle themselves intelligently and responsibly in the wide world of social media. And it’s not just a few bad apples ruining it for the rest of us; with identity theft, fraud, piracy, and cyber bullying running rampant, more and more people are beginning to realize that the lawless wild west of the worldwide web is a recipe for disaster. So it should come as no surprise that legislators are looking for ways to implement laws that will keep social media users in check, or at least operating within the law. It is unfortunate that so many people are willing to behave in a manner inconsistent with the law simply because legislation fails to specifically name the internet as a venue for such actions. But just because a law doesn’t expressly state that fraud or identity theft are illegal in the online arena doesn’t mean that criminals can get away with breaking these laws.
Of course, social media has had a much broader impact on the legal profession than simply making it clear that certain laws are being ignored because of the anonymity offered by the internet. In many cases, legal professionals are opting to use social media to their advantage. Some have started to utilize social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter, for example) as a way to discuss or comment on legal issues, including those pertaining to the use (or misuse) of social media. And although there are strict laws in place regarding how attorneys may advertise their services or comment on cases they are involved in, many have seen fit to release statements in this manner in addition to (or instead of) traditional media channels. While this has raised questions both legal and ethical, those in the legal professions are no more immune to the lure of social networking than anyone else.
In fact, a lawyer in Australia recently made headlines when he sent a foreclosure notice through Facebook. As an accepted form of communication, social networking has made it possible for attorneys to give up antiquated methods of delivering legal notices (by which they had to physically reach the intended recipient – not always an easy proposition). While some feel that this is a valid avenue of outreach, others contend that such tactics could all too easily be used in violation of user privacy rights. However, without the proper laws in place to police such actions, legal professionals will continue to use social media to their advantage, right up until they help to make the laws that limit such usage.
Breana Orland is a freelance writer and part-time student at California State University Northridge in Northridge, California. She writes for a variety of clients including Howell and Christmas, LLC, attorneys Charleston SC.
