U.S. Marine Raises Questions With Facebook Group

A United States Marine is facing criticism and support for setting up a Facebook group that is critical of President Obama. After establishing the Facebook group Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, Sgt. Gary Stein was directed by his superior officers to remove the group. After it was taken down, a local civilian organization brought the group back.

Stein says he has no intention of pushing the issue, but it does bring up an important question over the rights that employers have (in this case the United States Marine Corps) in deciding how their employees can use social networking websites.

Young People DO Care About Internet Privacy

Young people, who are often criticized for exposing their entire lives online, are actually aware of and concerned about privacy on the web. According to a study released by researchers at UC Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania shows that teens and young adults online share similar concerns as their elders, particularly about social networking websites like Facebook.

Italian Judge in Google Case Receives Hate Mail

Judge Oscar Magi, who convicted three Google executives on charges of criminal harassment a few months ago in an Italian court, has been receiving hate mail over his decision. According to this article from ComputerWorld, Magi claims the messages have come from all over the world from people critical over his decision. In an odd way, however, the hate mail helps to serve his point that people don’t take proper considerations of their actions online.

Should Users Be Mad Over Behavioral Targeting?

Behavioral targeting is one of the least-understood yet widely accepted forms of invasive marketing online. In general, people accept having ads tailored specifically for them, even though they don’t like the idea of using their surfing habits or Google searches to supply the information. In this article from Clickz.com, Amy Manus discusses behavioral targeting and why she believes that individuals who share their own information online need to reconsider why they think it’s wrong for companies to use that same information for targeted marketing.

In today’s Quick Hits, we discuss safety online, whether or not you can be sued for complaining about a business on Facebook, and more.

Towing Company Sues Student for $750,000 Over Facebook Group

A Western Michigan University student is being sued by a towing company for $750,000 over claims of libel and defamation after he created a Facebook group rallying people to share their experiences with the company. In an interview about the incident, the student, Justin Kurtz, “It’s kind of shocking. It’s a little comical for how much he’s suing me. It’s not like I was making untrue claims or anything. It’s not like I had control over anything that everyone had posted the whole time. I told everyone to be professional, don’t post any threats. Just tell your story and that’s what pretty much everyone did.”

In order to prove defamation, the towing company will have to prove that Kurtz lied about his experience, which is no easy task. If a judge decides to dismiss the case, Kurtz could countersue the towing company for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Common Sense Media Offers Internet Safety Curriculum

Common Sense Media is a non-profit organization dedicated to “improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.” This past week, the organization released a new curriculum for students, parents, and teachers to understand how to stay safe online and become good digital citizens.

Recently, technology and cybersafety expert Larry Magid had the chance to talk to Jim Steyer, the CEO of Common Sense Media, to discuss the curriculum.

Congress Outlaws Caller ID Spoofing

Congress has passed a law outlawing caller ID spoofing. The “Truth in Caller ID Act 2010″ (PDF here) covers calls from all devices, including landlines, cell phones, and VoIP technology as well. Two months ago in our daily Quick Hits, we shared an article from the Wall Street Journal on the subject of caller ID spoofing and how it often led to bullying and harassment.

MySpace Banks on Events

In an effort to remain relevant in the social media space, MySpace has revamped its efforts around creating and sharing events. According to TechCrunch, the website, which has shifted in focus toward music, now allows musicians to post events and fans to buy tickets for them directly through MySpace. Although MySpace is nowhere near as popular as Facebook, enhancements like this are critical if the company wants to stay competitive in a fast evolving industry.

If you didn’t think your random tweets were worth anything, think again. In a blog post today, the Library of Congress announced plans to digitally archive every tweet since Twitter’s inception. You heard it right.

Every. Single. Tweet.

Whether it’s spam for Viagra, a popular celebrity death hoax, or that random tweet about what you had for breakfast that one time, if it’s been shared publicly, it has now been deemed historically relevant. Crazy, right?

In other Twitter news, Google announced a major enhancement to the company’s real-time search tool that allows users to search the public archive of Twitter messages and “replay” conversations surrounding a certain topic. While the new feature rolls out globally, users will only be able to check tweets going back one month. In time, however, the feature will include the entire Twitter archive.

To me, the prospect of having every tweet you’ve ever written archived in the hallowed halls of the Library of Congress is pretty wild. The fact that Google can now index the entire public Twitter archive is likewise amazing. Do you think that with this news, folks out there are reconsidering some of the things they’ve shared on Twitter now?

Many people claim that “nobody is listening to what I say online anyway,” so what’s the big deal if they share funny pictures or inappropriate jokes? I think today’s announcements put that excuse to rest. As a culture, we have to get used to the idea that everything we share online could end up in the public record. To this end, it is important for individuals to establish a strong digital identity and proactively monitor it to protect their reputations online.

What do you think of the news from Google and the Library of Congress?

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In today’s Quick Hits, we’re talking about the limits of free speech online, cyberbullying, virtual voyeurism, and why it’s so hard to drop off the grid.

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Pennsylvania Circuit Court of Appeals Reexamining Free Speech Cases

Pennsylvania’s 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated two conflicting decisions regarding a student’s right to free speech as it relates to disparaging online content about school officials. In the first case, a student was suspended for setting up a fake MySpace page in his principal’s name. The suspension was overturned when a judge ruled the MySpace page didn’t create a “substantial disruption” at the school. In the second case, a student was suspended for setting up a MySpace page for her principal claiming he was a sex addict and pedophile. This suspension was upheld by a three-judge circuit panel.

In order to understand how they should manage situations like these, school officials solicited the court to rehear the cases and provide more definitive answers. The court will rehear the cases on June 3 with a 13-judge panel. Whatever the decisions they reach, appeals will likely be made to the Supreme Court.

Cops and School Officials Squash Cyberbullying in Chicago Suburb

The Chicago Tribune discusses how school officials and police worked together quickly to stop the spread of cyberbullying in Evanston, IL. The article details how an anonymous student or students created a Facebook page for mocking and bullying their peers. After learning about the page, school official contacted police and issued a warning that students involved in the site could not only face suspension, but criminal charges. Within a day, the bulk of the content from the page was removed.

14th Anniversary of the “JenniCam”

14 years ago today, Jennifer Kaye Ringley launched “JenniCam,” one of the web’s first experiments in livestreaming. As part of its This Day In Tech column, Wired explores how Jenni’s experiment in exhibitionism helped open up an Internet where Reality TV-style voyeurism is common.

How We Trade Privacy for Convenience

As a society, we take modern luxuries such as Internet access and cell phones for granted. Likewise, by using these technologies, we take our privacy for granted as well. This article from CNN discusses how we have willingly traded our privacy for the benefits of modern technology and why disappearing from the grid can be practically impossible for most individuals.