15 Feb Court Has Power to Access Private Facebook Info, Rules NY Judge
Last Wednesday, New York chief judge Janet DiFiore ruled that a user can be compelled by the court to hand over private Facebook photos, posts or metadata as long as it is relevant to a case.
On a case involving a woman who was injured in a horse-riding accident, DiFiore said that “is not whether the materials sought are private, but whether they are reasonably calculated to contain relevant information”.
The victim, who had been an avid Facebook user, said that the accident had caused her problems with using the computer. Because of this, the opposing party who was accused of negligence, sought an order to gain access to the victim’s private posts and photos, saying that the information would show how her lifestyle had been affected by the accident.
Source: The Register
