$15 Billion Things To Know

Online group discussions are questionable in this day and age and hey, so is this blog. So why do we continue to put our two cents in on everything from reality television to Cricket? The answer may only be reflected on a person to person basis, but as we continue to do so we must not forget or for some understand the unwritten rules of the World Wide Web.

Cornell University Office of Information Technology's Thoughts on Facebook has reasonable expectations for its students expressed in a sensible manner. Thoughts include "Five Things to think about when using Facebook." The concluding "thing to know" features "The Law."

V. The
Law

Most of the time when we talk about Facebook it is a very individual matter. There
is yet another angle to consider: the privacy of others. "Privacy" is a
complicated matter in American law. It evokes everything from the right to
family planning through Fourth Amendment search and seizure to torts, or civil
rights, "to be let alone" in our person.

Watch what you say! If you post an
alleged fact about someone that proves incorrect, you may be liable for damages
under either defamation or libel. Moreover, if you post photographs or
information about someone that can be construed to be an "invasion of their
privacy" (say while they were sleeping in their own bed), or "false light" (say
suggesting that they are of one sexual persuasion when they are of another), or
"misappropriation of likeness" (a claim usually reserved for celebrities, but
then again we have them here at Cornell too!) then you may be liable for a tort
under the broad rubric of "privacy."

If you are interested in joining Facebook or have been "logging-in" since your first day of college, either way do yourself a favor and check out what being a "Facebooker" is really all about and what this $15 billion dollar social utility (Read BBC News Online's 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn) has in store next.

Photo