Facebook and the law: Part 1

Facebook and the Law: Part 1

Facebook has become a part of daily life for millions of people over the last few years. It’s only natural then that it would start to become more and more relevant to the legal world too. In what way is this happening?

1.                  “Anything you say (online) may be used as evidence against you in a court of law”. We need to be really careful about what we say and post online. Note the case earlier this year of the taxi driver who posted a video of someone leaving his taxi without paying. A novel idea in itself of trying to get people to pay their debts in difficult times. But some bright spark incorrectly identified the non-payer, paving the way for days of litigation in the High Court, with multiple defendants all having to pay large legal teams to show why they weren’t at fault. As Mr. Justice Peart said, the combined costs of the legal team would have bought a very decent house in any part of the country. (Nice work if you can get it!). See McKeogh –v- John Doe 1 & Others [2012] IEHC 95.

2.                  If you’re already involved in legal proceedings, facebook can be used to prove or disprove your claims. So if you’re claiming that you are seriously injured and unable to work, but the photos on your facebook page show that you’ve been living it up recently, don’t expect a great day in court. And do expect that someone will be looking!

3.                  Are you allowed to use facebook at work? Does your employer have a policy for internet / social media use? If they do, do you know about it? You could be at risk of disciplinary action. Or maybe as an employer you're sick of employees spending your time on social media sites and want to know what you can do about it. Maybe you want employees to spend more time on social media sites (if they’re promoting your business that is).

This is just a brief observation of the way facebook has reached into our legal lives. More to follow shortly.

Maria O’ Donovan, Associate Solicitor

Wolfe & Co., Market Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork

Maria.odonovan@wolfe.ie
See www.wolfe.ie for more information