Social Media

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Keeping Online Speech Outside the Schoolhouse Gate

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A freshman at Oak Grove High School in Missouri used Facebook last month to vent about another student: "Wow, [expletive] alert," wrote Megan Wisemore.

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The Revolution Will Be Tweeted, Hopes the U.S.

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Anyone who followed the Green Movement protests in Iran is well aware of the importance of social media to the protesters.  Without Twitter, photo sharing, and other key information-sharing technologies, it's hard to believe that the protests would ever have materialized, let alone in such numbers that the Iranian government couldn't discretely crush them.  (By the way, if you're interested in seeing the social media at work in the protests, I'd highly recommend checking out Andrew Sullivan's blog The Daily Dis

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The Persian Version: Why Support for ACTA Undermines U.S. Promotion of Internet Freedom

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"To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it . . ." –Definition of Doublethink from 1984, George Orwell

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Barrow County School District v. Payne

Submitted by on

Date: 

08/01/2009

Threat Type: 

Disciplinary Action

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Ashley Payne

Type of Party: 

Government

Type of Party: 

Individual

Legal Counsel: 

Richard Storrs

Legal Claims: 

None

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Facebook.com

Publication Medium: 

Social Network

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Lawsuit Filed

Description: 

In August 2009, the Barrow County School District allegedly forced Apalachee High School English teacher Ashley Payne to resign over postings on her Facebook page.  Apparently, the school objected to photos from Payne's vacation to Europe showing her holding wine and beer, as well as a posting indicating that she was "headed out to play Crazy Bitch Bingo" at a local bar.  The school stated that it was acting in response to a complaint from a parent, but, according to Payne, her Facebook page was private and she hadn't "friended" any of her students. Payne subsequently sued the school district, alleging violations of state labor law.

Note: The status of this entry is marked "concluded" because the disciplinary action against Payne is complete, but her lawsuit against the school district remains pending as of the time of writing, March 23, 2010.

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1-High

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Philly, Don't Blame Facebook for Missing the Snowball Fight Invite

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I understand you're upset, Philadelphia.  Plans for a "flash mob" snowball fight last week got out of control.  Scores of teenagers stormed a local mall and nearby streets

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Olympic Athletes Can Tweet to Their Hearts' Content

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Rejoice, all ye Olympian fans, the International Olympic Committee ("IOC") has said that its athletes can use Twitter!

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Courts In Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida Declare Mistrials After Juror Internet Research

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Appeals courts in Colorado, Maryland and New Jersey are the first to reverse jury verdicts because of social media use by jurors during trial.

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Florida Court Restricts Reporter's Use of Laptop During Murder Trial

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As if there hasn't been enough judicial scrutiny of live media coverage during ongoing trials recently, last week a Florida court banned a Florida Times-Union reporter from live-blogging during a high-profile murder trial in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Duval County, Florida.

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The Digital Riddle: When Sex Laws Meet the Internet, Confusion Reigns

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Predictability is important when it comes to the law. Citizens should know what sort of punishment they should expect for engaging in criminal behavior. If offends our notions of justice when wildly different sentences are handed down for similar crimes.

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United States v. Madison

Submitted by on

Date: 

09/24/2009

Threat Type: 

Criminal Charge

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Elliott Madison (Elliot Madison); Michael Wallschlaeger; Elena Madison; Jennifer Sobolewski; James Weiss, Irina Weiss; Maik Hasenbank

Type of Party: 

Government

Type of Party: 

Individual

Court Type: 

Federal
State

Court Name: 

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas; U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn)

Case Number: 

1:09-mc-00647-DLI (federal)

Legal Counsel: 

Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. (Allegheny County District Attorney); Andrew E. Goldsmith (Assistant U.S. Attorney); Benton J. Campbell (U.S. Attorney)

Legal Counsel: 

Martin R. Stolar (primary in New York); Claudia Davidson

Legal Claims: 

Other

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Twitter

Publication Medium: 

Micro-blog

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2009-10-02-Order to Show Cause.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-06-Amended Order to Show Cause.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-09-Government Response to Madison Motion.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-13-Response to Government Letter.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-19-Madison Affidavit to Court.pdf
PDF icon 2009-11-10-District Court Final Order.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-02-Motion and Copies of Search Warrant and Criminal Charge.pdf
PDF icon 2009-10-06-Amended Motion for Order to Show Cause.pdf

Status: 

Pending

Disposition: 

Withdrawn

Description: 

Elliott Madison (also spelled as Elliot Madison), along with Michael Wallschlaeger, was arrested by the Pennsylvania state police after using Twitter messages to relay information from police scanners and maps to protestors of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. They were charged with "hindering apprehension or prosecution, criminal use of a commnication facility, and possession of instruments of crime". According to Martin Stolar, Madison's attorney, the charge of hindering prosecution arose from the fact that Madison announced that the police had issued an order to disperse to the protestors.

A week after the G-20 summit arrest, Joint Terrorism Task Force agents searched Madison's New York home and seized his property, including his computers and the records he keeps for his occupation as a mental health facility counselor. Elena Madison, Jennifer Sobolewski, Michael Wallschlaeger, James Weiss, Irina Weiss, and Maik Hasenbank were also residents of this address at the time. The search warrant used in the search "asked for evidence that indicated...[potential] violations of federal rioting laws." If Madison is found guilty of violating the rioting law (18 U.S.C. §2101), he could face a penalty of up to five years in prison. Madison asked the court for a temporary order to prevent officials from examining the seized property until the court had the opportunity to examine the search warrant.  He also filed a motion to recover the seized property. Stolar argued that the search was unconstitutional and violated Madison's free speech rights. However, an Eastern District New York judge ruled that the government's search was not illegal and lifted the temporary stay, finding that the search warrant was "sufficiently particular and in compliance with the First Amendment".

The criminal charges in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania were dropped after the New York investigation commenced, as the law enforcement agencies felt that the G-20 activities "were not isolated incidents." Madison has not been charged in New York yet, and although he has attempted to appeal the court's order, officials are not prohibited from examining the property that they seized.

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CMLP Notes: 

EK - editing [11/24/09]

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1-High

Will This Revolution Be YouTubed?

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YouTube CourtThere are a couple of laws in California that the U.S. Supreme Court should consider before it announces tomorrow whether or not the Proposition 8 trial can be broadcast on YouTube: § 240 and § 422.  These two laws don't address same-sex marriage, discrimination, or even access to courts, as you may have expected.  Instead, these sections of the California Penal Code make it a crime to either assault or threaten to use violence against another person. 

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Kim Kardashian Finds Herself in a Low Calorie Twitter Mess

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Last week, celebrity, model, socialite, and actress Kim Kardashian found herself in diet hell.  Dr. Sanford Siegal, creator of the "Cookie Diet," and his Company, Dr.

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Route 60 Hyundai v. Alascio

Submitted by on

Date: 

12/04/2009

Threat Type: 

Correspondence

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Thomas J. Alascio

Type of Party: 

Organization

Type of Party: 

Individual

Legal Counsel: 

Douglas J. Thompson - Law Offices of Douglas E. Thompson

Legal Counsel: 

Marc J. Randazza - Randazza Legal Group

Legal Claims: 

Defamation
Tortious Interference

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Facebook

Twitter: Thomas Alascio

Publication Medium: 

Micro-blog
Social Network

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2009-12-04-Route 6 Hyundai Demand.pdf
PDF icon 2009-12-19-Alascio Response.pdf

Status: 

Pending

Description: 

Counsel for Route 60 Hyundai, a car dealership in Florida, sent a demand letter to Thomas Alascio after he posted critical comments about the dealership on Twitter and Facebook.  The letter accused Alascio of defaming the company and demanded that he cease and desist from making futher defamatory comments and take all steps necessary to remove comments about Route 60 from the Internet.

Alascio published a series of comments over a two-week period in October 2009 after a dispute with a Route 60 employee. His tweets took the form of a running joke harping on Route 60's alleged inadequacies, saying that Route 60 is "the worst car dealership on the planet," that it "sucks," and that its service "stinks," among other things.

After receiving the demand letter, Alascio retained Marc Randazza as counsel, and Randazza sent a response letter disputing the legal and factual sufficiency of Route 60's claims.  In particular, Randazza argued that all of Alascio's alleged statements were statements of opinion or rhetorical hyperbole, which are not capble of supporting a defamation action.  In addition, Randazza warned that his client would pursue sanctions and file a counterclaim for abuse of process if Route 60 filed a complaint.  

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CMLP Publishes New Guide to FTC Disclosure Requirements for Product Endorsements

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As part of our legal guide series on Risks Associated with Publication, today CMLP published a guide to Publishing Product or Service Endorsements. 

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Some Gray Areas Surrounding the FTC's Disclosure Requirements

On this page, we look at some areas where it is not entirely clear how the FTC's Guidelines will apply to online publishing activities:

The Occasional Freebie. Perhaps the most troubling gray area is whether you have to disclose your "relationship" with a company that sends you a freebie once in a while in anticipation of your writing a review about it, but with whom you have no other formal ties. It is not clear how the FTC will deal with this situation.

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