Social media websites like Facebook originally became popular because they helped people, oftentimes located far away from each other, to become or stay connected. However, social media is starting to play a large role in personal injury cases, more often hurting rather than helping plaintiffs’ claims for damages.
Personal injury cases being affected by social media
In one recent case, a judge pulled up close to 200 pages of the plaintiff’s Facebook page and cited these pages as evidence in denying her claim for damages. Reports of insurance companies also going to Facebook to check on accident details have also been circulated.
However, law and technology experts are warning the courts of the dangers associated with relying on social media pages as evidence, given that the information may or may not be truthful.
That being said, increasing privacy settings and being careful about what you post about yourself online is often a wise choice. Your public postings can reach anyone unless you place access restrictions on them.
What Laws Are Protecting Me?
The Federal Trade Commission Act allows the Federal Trade Commission to take action where companies have failed to comply with their own privacy policies, such as where a company promised data security, only to have it compromised, disclosed, or otherwise sold to third parties.
In addition, the Stored Communications Act (or “SCA,” which is part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act) was passed specifically because the internet presents potential privacy breaches that the Fourth Amendment does not cover. The SCA blocks electronic data service and storage providers from disclosing private communications and customers’ data to certain entities, and has been used in the context of discovery sought from Facebook and other sites. The majority of courts maintain that internet service providers and social media websites are bound by the SCA to not produce postings and emails of their members in response to civil subpoenas (and attorneys must use other means of obtaining any social media postings).
Each state, including Louisiana, also has its own privacy laws. Anyone in our state seeking your social media information must comply with the state data privacy law. The same goes for anyone located outside of the U.S. who tries to access your social media information; they must comport with the laws in their country (which can often be more restrictive than U.S. laws.), as well as any international laws that govern the movement of personal data across borders.
In addition, individuals who have had their social media pages used against them have sometimes successfully brought invasion of privacy torts, such as public disclosure of private facts, intrusion upon seclusion, misappropriation, etc. in response to the disclosure of this information.
Harrell & Nowak
The personal injury attorneys at Harrell & Nowak have helped many victims in New Orleans, Kenner, Metairie, and throughout Louisiana obtain financial compensation for their injuries. Our accident lawyers will work to ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive a fair recovery for your injuries. Contact us today.