CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘Harassment’ Category

EU - ENISA asks for new legislation on social networking sites: “(IDG)
Europe’s top Internet security agency, ENISA, called for new legislation to police social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. ‘Social networking sites are very useful social tools but we must make recommendations for how to better protect people from the risks these sites create,’ said Andreas Pirotti, executive director of ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency). He suggested that EU legislation be expanded ‘to cover the taking of photos of people and posting them on the internet,’ he said, adding that currently there is no need to get a person’s consent in order to post a photo of them. He also said there is a ‘crucial need’ to raise awareness about how social networking sites work. Few people realize that they can be offered up as friends to people they don’t know. Also, many people don’t realize that it’s almost impossible to erase material once it has appeared on the internet, Pirotti said.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

MySpace suicide case based on breach of terms and conditions: “A US woman has been found guilty of perpetrating an online hoax because she violated MySpace’s terms and conditions, potentially setting a precedent that a violation of contract terms could lead to criminal convictions.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

US - Lovestruck MySpace teen not guilty of harassment, court says: “(Iconoclast blog)
by Declan McCullagh. NeW York State prosecutors decided to charge Isaiah Rodriguez, 18, of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child over a series of MySpace.com messages professing his ardent devotion to a 14-year-old girl. Fortunately, the New York City criminal court thought otherwise. In a ruling on April 4, Judge Michael Gerstein in Brooklyn hels that while the actions of a love-struck teenager may well be foolish, reckless, or otherwise acts which might not be expected from a mature adult, they are not, without more, elevated to crimes.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)