Social Media in the Legal News

FACEBOOK – A Mississippi student is suing her high school after a teacher demanded access to the student’s Facebook account. Apparently, the cheerleading coach required the entire squad to hand over passwords to the popular social network site and subsequently disseminated the student’s personal content. The suit alleges that school officials violated the students constitutional rights to free speech and privacy, among others. Click here for the full story.
TWITTER – A story in the Chicago Sun Times reveals that a management company is suing a former tenant for a Twitter post she made. In the post the tenant said:
“Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.”
The management claims that the statements are “malicious and wrongful”. I understand that a business must work tirelessly to protect its good name, but I was surprised by the statements of the company representative (and family member):
“We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization,” he said, noting that the company manages 1,500 apartments in Chicago and has a good reputation it wants to preserve.
The law suit is seeking $50,000 in damages. This law suit may do more damage to the company’s reputation than the Twitter post ever could.
Click here for more information from Mashable