8,000 Menacing Posts

http://ow.ly/6g2Tm

An article by Somini Sengupta regarding appearing on the EDD Update blog, regarding a test of the limits for free speech of Twitter.

This article illustrates a real life situation which as an example of Cyberstalking.  This blog post references a New York Times article and states, "...The New York Times article, "Case of 8,000 Menacing Posts Tests Limits of Twitter Speech," involves efforts by William Lawrence Cassidty to harass a woman, Alyce Zeoli, by posting thousands of threatening and defamatory Twitter posts. He was charged with online stalking, on the theory that his posts caused emotional distress to the victim.

Cyberstalking laws are, accordingly to the article rarely enforced. The prosecution in this case raises a question about the precise nature of information posted on social networks -- are they better viewed as private communications between parties, or public statements like newspaper articles."


The author of the blog post also discusses an eDiscovery aspect related to this situation, "For an EDD standpoint, note that Twitter, in response to a subpoena, revealed the IP address of the computer used to post the messages – information that allowed law enforcement to locate the accused. This raises an additional First Amendment issue, as the disclosure of the author of seemingly anonymous posts to law enforcement is likely to have a chilling effect on future anonymous posters about controversial subjects."