Facelaw

Facebook is a powerful networking tool. The propensity for humans to publish to the world their embarrassing moments and photos is clearly a powerful urge. It is also the first port of call for enterprising journos when trying to get a bit of background on any public figure (I'm sure most Aussies remember those saucy pics of gold medalist Stephanie Rice that made it to the mainstream media, before she tightened the security on her Facebook profile).

Sharing your experiences, parties, photos and emotional state with your "friends" can be quite addictive. Individuals signing up for a free service on the internet should probably not expect that the privacy options of said service are really of any use. A court case in Canada, where a plaintiff is suing...someone about how a car accident "lessened his enjoyment of life" is now being forced by the defendants lawyers to open up his Facebook profile to the court to prove his life has been a life less enjoyed:

""If you are alleging that, as a result of an accident, you have not been able to enjoy life the same way and there is a photo taken after the accident showing you skiing or exercising ... that could be relevant," the civil litigation and intellectual property lawyer said in an interview yesterday."

And the litigation use of Facebook is by no means confined to North America and Canada. In NZ, the High Court has now approved the serving of court papers via Facebook. And from the same article:

"a recent court case in Australia where the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court approved an application to use Facebook to legally notify a couple they lost their home after defaulting on a loan."

I guess if your keen enough to put your life on the Web, then it was only a matter of time before the State got in the act. Space Monkey forbid if we ever have to have federal elections via our Facebook profiles.

Further Links:

It appears that the US court system is struggling to cope with illegal Googling and this always connected generation:

"A juror on a lunch or bathroom break can find out many details about a case. Wikipedia can help explain the technology underlying a patent claim or medical condition, Google Maps can show how long it might take to drive from Point A to Point B, and news sites can write about a criminal defendant, his lawyers or expert witnesses."

Where technology intersects Governance, we are going to see possibly the greatest shake up of societal laws, rules and norms ever seen before.