Social Networking - Legal Issues

Facebook, Twitter, My Space. These are all social networking sites that have become parts of everyday life for more and more of us in the last two years. While these sites have many positive aspects, such as allowing us to stay close to far off friends, there are things you must keep in mind.

First, comments made on these sites may become public. Be careful about what you say. This is not your personal diary. Broadcasting items can harm your safety or (as I will discuss later) impact litigation. Do you really need to tell what could be hundreds of people that you are going to be gone for a 3 week vacation? This may not be something you want the world to know.

I have dealt with negative issues regarding social networking sites in litigation. If you are involved in a lawsuit, you need to know that statements made by you on such sites can be obtained by the opposing attorney, and thus, reviewed by the Court. Statements regarding affairs, desires to harm you spouse (no matter how tongue and cheek they may be), or personal opinions about the intelligence (or lack thereof) of the Judge can come back and haunt you.

So, keep tweeting, facebooking, and posting to My Space, but remember, in our increasingly technologically advanced society, very little we say is guaranteed to stay private.