Innocent until proven on Facebook

“Post at you own risk.” That is the motto most users of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have come to accept. Whether you want it to or not, it is best to assume that whatever you send into cyberspace will be viewed by your friends, family, coworkers, and now more importantly the police. As more and more people choose to stream their lives online, social media sites are quickly becoming valuable sources for evidence in legal battles.

Up to now, social networking transactions have mostly been used as prosecutorial evidence. For instance, in September an article in The Journal reported how 19-year-old Jonathan G. Parker, of Fort Loudoun, PA, was arrested for burglary after he opened his Facebook account on the victim’s computer. After checking his Facebook status mid-crime, Parker forgot to log out before leaving the home with two diamond rings. While this particular case is a little extreme, there have been numerous instances where inappropriate comments or photos posted to the Web have helped bolster evidence in divorce and employment cases. Such cases are becoming more prevalent in part because Congress in 2006 mandated changes to the federal rules of civil procedure, expanding the acceptance of electronically stored information as evidence.

However, there is a bright side to this issue. Where social networking can incriminate, it can also prove innocent. The New York Times recently posted an article detailing an instance where a simple status update served as an alibi for a suspected robber. Rodney Bradford, 19, of Harlem, NY, was arrested for an armed mugging that occurred on Oct. 17 at 11:50 a.m. The charges were dropped after his defense lawyer, Robert Reuland, revealed that Bradford had updated his status to “Where’s my pancakes?” at precisely 11:49 a.m. from a computer located at his father’s home. While some may argue that anyone who knew Bradford’s username and password could have typed the Facebook update, Reuland answered that, “This implies a level of criminal genius that you would not expect from a young boy like this; he is not Dr. Evil.”

John Browning, a lawyer and member of the Dallas Bar Association who studies social networking and the law, sees this case a sign of how powerful a presence social networking has become in today’s society. “This is the first case that I’m aware of in which a Facebook update has been used as alibi evidence,” said Browning. “We are going to see more of that because of how prevalent social networking has become.”

Now that social media has proved to be an asset for both a person’s innocence and his guilt, the question remains: to post or not to post?