Facebook status update can be used as an alibi
By Asavin Wattanajantra in Editorial
Posted in status, law, legal, Facebook on
Last month I talked about how a woman was arrested for poking somebody on Facebook for violating the terms of a protection agreement.
Now, according to an article in the New York Times, a Facebook status message left by 19-year old teenager Rodney Bradford has proved to be his alibi, after being charged with a robbery.
The message of Rodney asking where his pancakes were was left at 11.49am. It was one of those typical Facebook messages that pretty much means nothing to anybody but the poster - but it became crucial when he was arrested for a robbery in Brooklyn.
Facebook was called to confirm that those words were indeed typed from a computer at the home of Rodney father, and when the social network did that, the charges were dropped.
“This is the first case that I’m aware of in which a facebook update has been used as alibi evidence,” Dallas lawyer John G. Bowing was quoted as saying. “We are going to see more of that because of how prevalent social networking has become.”
Although it is funny to think that a status update can be used as an alibi, I don’t think it’s anything anymore to be surprised about. With courts more inclined to take electronic evidence and the fact we carry mobile phones with us everywhere we go, electronic tracking can find out an awful lot about us - not just about where we are.
To some extent, our use of GPS and our relationship with companies like Google and Facebook means that we are always connected up. We’ve seen films like Enemy of the State - electronic devices can make us guilty just as much as they could find us innocent.
Understandably there are privacy concerns - but I guess that’s the price you play for being connected at all times - and maybe like in Rodney’s case it could actually help you.
Rated: 60% (1 votes)
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[…] IT PRO: Blogs: Asavin Wattanajantra: Facebook status update can be used as an alibi www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/asavinw/2009/11/16/facebook-status-update-can-be-used-as-an-alibi – view page – cached , Last month I talked about how a woman was arrested for poking somebody on Facebook for violating the terms of a protection agreement. Now, according to an […]
Comment by NIckPheas - November 17, 2009 on 1:35 pm
And what proof had they that Rodney actually posted the update himself?
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