In New Zealand, a man was sentenced to jail for posting naked pictures on Facebook.
The accused, Joshua Simon Ashby, reportedly texted his ex-girlfriend “I’m going to kill you” and Dead b…” and then posted naked picture on her on her Facebook profile making it visible to her 218 friends.
Facebook (and the police) took it down by closing the woman’s account 12 hours later by which time the picture was visible to all the 500 plus million users on Facebook.
Ashby reportedly posted the photo in an “irresponsible drunken jealous rage” after the breakup of their five-month relationship and was sentenced to four months in jail.
He is believed to have made legal history by being the first person to be sentenced for a crime committed using social media under the seldom-used morality and decency section of the Crimes Act.
Dozens of stories about suspension and termination from jobs over unethical Facebook post comes out every now and then, and one doesn’t need to comprehend that portraying your employers negatively in public is a dumb move for one’s career. But, for a change employees may be on the safe side even if they vent their anger on their boss on Facebook or other social networking sites.
National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint backing an employee who was fired for posting negative remarks about her supervisor on her Facebook page.
“This is a fairly straightforward case under the National Labor Relations Act — whether it takes place on Facebook or at the water cooler, it was employees talking jointly about working conditions, in this case about their supervisor, and they have a right to do that,” Lafe Solomon, the board’s acting general counsel told the New York Times.
The defendant, American Medical Response of Connecticut, reportedly fired an emergency medical technician accusing her or violating a policy that bars employees from portraying the company “in any way” on Facebook or other social media.
According to the NY Times, the employee Dawnmarie Souza was unhappy that her supervior would not let the Teamsters, the union representing the company’s workers, help her prepare her response to a customer’s complaint about her work. She mocked and riculed her supervisor of Facebook. She also wrote, “love how the company allows a 17 to become a supervisor” – 17 is said to be the company’s lingo for a psychiatric patient.
The hearing is scheduled for January 25.
Win or lose, this case marks the first time NLRB has taken up freedom of speech on Facebook and, in all likelihood, take up more cases in the future.
Here are a few stories about Facebook and its users that made the news during this week.
Most of you might have forgotten about the Ontario woman, Ashley Anne Kirilow, who faked as cancer patient to scam money from people in the form of donation through Facebook-based charity. Another Ontario woman has been arrested for faking similar act. Jessica Ann Leeder, 21, is accused of defrauding local residents and business to money and donation to fund non-existent cancer treatments.
Despite the fact that Facebook has given rise to a lot of criminal activity, the site has also help a lot in providing useful information that lead to arresting criminals. In a recent incident, a man who absconded from parole in California 12 years ago was arrested in northern Montana at a casino. Police tracked him down through updates on his Facebook page. Some of his posts mentioned snow and winning $600 playing Keno, and he responded it was in “Cut Bank” when a friend asked where he was. In another incident, local state and Federal officers arrested 74 gang members belonging to the Almighty Latin King Nation gang and the New World Order gang for distributing marijuana and cocaine out of Pontiac. Among the several identification and surveillance methods used to identify the gangs, authorities also used social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to indentify gang members, where the gang members usually boasted about their activities.
A New Canaan journalist, 38-year-old Teri Buhl, is the Facebook posts victim of the week. She was arrested for posting embarrassing personal journals of her boyfriend’s 17-year-old daughter on Facebook last week. The posts reportedly detailed underage drinking and sexual situation at a party the girl attended.
Last but not the least, Facebook helped a brother and his sister finally reunited met their birth parents after they were separated for more than 30 years. In this heartwarming incident, Daug Ralson and his sister Stephanie Ralson were place in the Texas foster care system in 1975 shortly after Douglas was born. Both of them were adopted by the Ralsons. After years of disappointing attempts, Douglas’ fiancee met a stranger through Facebook who happened to be a retired Dallas police officer, and he offered his skills to help track down Ralson’s mother. The siblings drove up to meet their birth mother. And finally, along with their adoptive parents, they have also arranged to meet their father on Oct 31, who is living in Dallas.
A British schoolboy who punched a cat to death was caught after he boasted about it on Facebook.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the 15-year-old schoolboy assaulted Oliver, a 12-year-old pet, by punching the animal in the head. The attack broke the cat’s jaw bone in three places and fractured three ribs.
Somehow the fatally injured cat managed to get back to his home, where the owner Ellen Redmond and her family found him. They took him to the vet, and was finally put to sleep due to the severity of the injury.
Meanwhile, the boy apparently boasted about the incident on Facebook by posting comments like “How ill was tht dig when I dropped tht cat B4. Hahaha.” and “I booted 1 in the head B4.”
Mrs Redmond’s teenage daughter saw the comments and reported to the police after copying the page.
The youngster, who was identified later, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by causing injuries resulting in its death.
He was referred to a youth offender panel for a year and ordered to pay £425 in compensation.
Facebook users have their fair share of problems right from managing their account to becoming victims of Facebook comments to privacy problems to impostors creating havoc.
Here are few stories about Facebook users for the week.
Recently in India, 16 school students were suspended for a month for posting abusive comments about one of their female teacher. It all started when one student who got a zero, went online to show his displeasure and got 15 of his classmates trapped when they chipped in with their comments. Thankfully, their parents requested the authority to review their decision. The 16 students will now have to only devote six hours of community service before Dec 20, look after the school notice and display boards, and write an essay as well as prepare a presentation on the merits and de-merits of internet and present it in the morning assembly. Reportedly, some parents are still not happy with the decision. Personally, I think it is heaven comparing with the initial decision of suspension for one month.
Moving to Australia, singer Ella Hooper of The Verses is reportedly at the centre of Facebook scandal due to racist comments that brands Thai people as “Asian pigs” and “stupid people” on her Facebook account. Luckily, the Facebook account was created and ran by an impostor, who was communicating with over 5000 fans. The fake account is apparently removed now after the singer requested Facebook to look into the matter. Fans can find the real Ella and her brother Jesse and communicate with them directly via The Verses Facebook page.
Meanwhile, an unfortunate man, James Woron, also caught up in the dirty web of Facebook impersonation. His fake Facebook page was filled with derogatory comments about women and gays and graced with the picture of convicted sex-offender and disgraced hockey coach Graham James. He reportedly heard about it when the wife of an old friend contacted him to let him know that she was upset for his comment about the name of their new baby. Saddest part of all, this man never had a Facebook page.
Coming back to becoming the victim of Facebook comments, a Whitman-Hanson Regional High School junior varsity soccer player was suspended from sports for the rest of the year for reportedly posting “what the school administrators are calling unsportsmanlike comments” on his Facebook page after a game against Duxbury High School. The student was not identified by the authorities due to privacy reasons.
These are some incidents when Facebook can become your nemesis, whether you are an active user or a non-user. Be very thoughtful about what you post, then you will be safe from at least one pit falls of social networking.
Sixteen students of a private High School in northern India were suspended because of indecent remarks on Facebook.
According to NDTV, the incident took place earlier this week when a Class 12 student on scoring a zero in his math exam, headed straight to his Facebook account and posted a photo of his math teacher along with some rude and abusive comments. Fifteen of his classmates chipped in with their comments and thumbs ups.
The female teacher who reportedly has an account on the social networking site saw the post and brought it to the notice of the school management.
The sixteen students are suspended for three months.
Parents of the suspended students agreed with the school authorities on the action of their wards, but are requesting the authorities to review their decision saying, “… suspending them for three months in a crucial class is too harsh.”
Note: In the Indian education system, Class 12 is the final year of school, after which students start their College.
The Montreal man who was arrested last Saturday for making death threats on Facebook has also been charged with possessing child pornography.
Abitbol’s scheduled bail hearing has been rescheduled for Oct 13.
Investigators found hundreds of photos of children on his computer that was seized as a result of the death threat investigation.
More on the news at CBC News.
The latest victim of Facebook post is an Australian regional newspaper editor.
Matt Nicholls, the 23-year-old editor of Glen Innes Examier newspaper allegedly posted on Facebook that “there was nothing better than death to lift circulation” referring to policeman the death of policeman William Crews.
Policeman William Crews died in the hospital after he was shot in his head in a drug raid in Sydney.
Mr. Nicholls is also alleged to have said that he was was going to make the most of the death for his company and newspaper.
Mr. Nicholls reportedly denied making the posts.
Nevertheless, The CEO of Fairfax regional publishing Allan Browne apologised terming the comments made by Mr. Nicholls as “totally unacceptable” as well as adding, “Mr Nicholls has been stood down from his position as editor, effective immediately.”
A band of tech-savvy burglars in New Hampshire proved yet again to watch what you post on Facebook or other social networking sites.
According to a report on the Nashua Telegraph, police believe that a group of burglars in Nashua, New Hampshire have been using Facebook to pick out victim’s home through clues from user’s status updates. The gang strike the target homes mostly during day time when the owners were out.
The gang is believed to have stolen goods worth $100,000 to $200,000, including ammunition, elctronics, and fireworks from a series of burglaries.
Three men have been identified and charged in connection to 18 burglaries and police are searching for links to dozens more.
“Be careful of what you post on these social networking sites,” warns Capt. Ron Dickerson. “We know for a fact that some of these players, some of these criminals, were looking on these sites, and identifying their targets through these social networking sites.”
So, here is another Facebook news to remind you to be more careful of what you share on social networking sites.
A North Carolina Woman was found shot dead along with her ex-boyfriend at her home.
Karen Ann Rooney, 63, and Peter Terrance Moonan, 62, had reportedly dated for 16 years before ending their relationship earlier this year.
The incident happened after Rooney updated her Facebook status about her engagement with William Jenkins.
According to the police, Rooney’s ex-boyfriend shot her and then turned the gun on himself.
Police believe the Facebook post might have triggered the incident.
Sixteen Students Suspended For Abusive Comments On Facebook
October 7, 2010
Sixteen students of a private High School in northern India were suspended because of indecent remarks on Facebook.
According to NDTV, the incident took place earlier this week when a Class 12 student on scoring a zero in his math exam, headed straight to his Facebook account and posted a photo of his math teacher along with some rude and abusive comments. Fifteen of his classmates chipped in with their comments and thumbs ups.
The female teacher who reportedly has an account on the social networking site saw the post and brought it to the notice of the school management.
The sixteen students are suspended for three months.
Parents of the suspended students agreed with the school authorities on the action of their wards, but are requesting the authorities to review their decision saying, “… suspending them for three months in a crucial class is too harsh.”
Note: In the Indian education system, Class 12 is the final year of school, after which students start their College.
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