Ignorance of privacy settings is no defense

By admin | July 17, 2012

As if we needed another reminder to be careful what we post online, this story further reinforces the point:

Ignorance about Facebook privacy settings is no excuse for complaining about the consequences of publishing off-colour online comments, a U.S. judge has ruled.

Robert J. Sumien, an emergency medical technician in Texas, wrote a Facebook wall post about giving “boot to the head” to unruly patients. The comment came to the attention of his employers, CareFlite, an ambulance service and medical transportation firm, who showed him the door.

Sumien sued for privacy invasion and wrongful termination of his employment contract. He claimed that his employer invaded his privacy because he misunderstood a coworker’s Facebook settings and didn’t realise comments he made on a colleague’s wall would be seen by others inside and outside the hospital.

While we’ve known for a while that our posts and comments on social media can have very real consequences (particularly in regard to our employment), this case is particularly interesting due to the fact that offending comment was posted on another user’s account.

The point remains: you are responsible for your online presence, and you can be held accountable for how you conduct yourself online.

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