Penalties Loom For Violators of Social Networking Sites' Terms of Service
Kristina Dillon, Katie Ryan and Hector Saavedra
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: News
It's a place where millions of people can sit down to chat, send messages, exchange pictures, spill their deepest darkest secrets, or share a drink with a friend half way around the world. They can do all this and more without leaving the comforts of home.
Social networking sites are the phenomenon that has been sweeping the internet over the past five years. A surprising 92 percent of surveyed Mercy College students have admitted to using at least one of the more popular social sites, Facebook or MySpace.
There are hundreds of these sites used all over the world with millions of users. They are set up like an online community, each different from the other, but all with the common purpose of bringing people together.
But just as these sites have risen in popularity, they have also, especially recently, been the source of a lot of controversy. They are now being used everyday in criminal and legal investigations.
Information that used to be all fun and games, simply posted on popular sites such as the ones mentioned above, is now being used against the individuals who posted them. The police and even college officials have been getting involved and taking action, building strong cases using evidence that was obtained from individuals' "pages."
With more cases that arise with different circumstances, the more the question of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech comes into play.
And whatever happened to privacy?
FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS
The First Amendment in the United States Constitution was designed to protect and encourage citizen expression, but since the eruption of electronic news reporting and networking sites, several parties question its ability to continue to serve today's public effectively.
Signed on Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution's First Amendment stated that "Congress shall make no law[…]abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." For centuries since, this amendment has been pivotal in protecting private citizens and public entities alike, and yet it has been hotly contested: from free-press versus fair-trial debates to cases of "malicious intent" in print journalism.
Social networking sites are the phenomenon that has been sweeping the internet over the past five years. A surprising 92 percent of surveyed Mercy College students have admitted to using at least one of the more popular social sites, Facebook or MySpace.
There are hundreds of these sites used all over the world with millions of users. They are set up like an online community, each different from the other, but all with the common purpose of bringing people together.
But just as these sites have risen in popularity, they have also, especially recently, been the source of a lot of controversy. They are now being used everyday in criminal and legal investigations.
Information that used to be all fun and games, simply posted on popular sites such as the ones mentioned above, is now being used against the individuals who posted them. The police and even college officials have been getting involved and taking action, building strong cases using evidence that was obtained from individuals' "pages."
With more cases that arise with different circumstances, the more the question of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech comes into play.
And whatever happened to privacy?
FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS
The First Amendment in the United States Constitution was designed to protect and encourage citizen expression, but since the eruption of electronic news reporting and networking sites, several parties question its ability to continue to serve today's public effectively.
Signed on Sept. 17, 1787, the Constitution's First Amendment stated that "Congress shall make no law[…]abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." For centuries since, this amendment has been pivotal in protecting private citizens and public entities alike, and yet it has been hotly contested: from free-press versus fair-trial debates to cases of "malicious intent" in print journalism.
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