Suspended Florida Teen Allowed to Proceed With Lawsuit Against High School

After a Florida teen was suspended for making a critical Facebook page about her teacher, she sued her high school’s principal arguing that her right to free speech was violated. Now, a federal judge has ruled that the teen, who is now a sophomore in college, can proceed with her lawsuit against her former school.

According to this article in the New York Times, the ACLU, who helped represent the teen, is claiming this decision as a victory for free speech online. Quoting from the article, “One of the lawyers, Maria Kayanan, associate legal director of the American Civl Liberties Union of Florida, said the judge’s decision had clearly extended the protection of First Amendment rights to online writings of a nonthreatening manner.”

Can Facebook Compete with Google on Search?

As Facebook continues to cement itself as the central hub around which web surfers use the Internet, many in the industry are wondering if the world’s largest social network can become a competitor to Google’s dominance in search. The short answer is no, but the long answer is maybe. In a post for Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling dissects some recent data that suggests Facebook is catching up to Google.

North Carolina Teacher Suspended Over Negative Facebook Comments About Students

A North Carolina teacher, Melissa Hussein, has been suspended for leaving negative comments about her students on her Facebook page. To add an additional layer of context, the comments, which said the students were “bigoted and stupid,” seem to involve religion as they came in response to students’ leaving bibles on the teacher’s desk. Something tells me this story could blow up in a big way. We’ll keep our eyes on it.

Spammers Already Running Free on Google Buzz

According to web security company Websense, it only took two days for spammers to start abusing Google Buzz. Because they have so much personal information, social networking websites are prime candidates for attacks from spammers and cybercriminals. In order to use social networking websites effectively, you have to know the signs of a spammer and always be careful about what information you share publicly.