Title: Oregon Tries to Criminalize Tweets
Source: Forbes (344 words)
URL: http://goo.gl/E0ce1
Focus area: Twitter and the law
For Whom: Marketing. legal, executive
Synopsis: Twitter has recently come under fire for its announcement of policies allowing it to essentially censor tweets on a per country basis. Freedom of speech advocates don’t like that idea. In Oregon a bill was brought up to criminalize tweets like those that announce flash mobs for criminal activity. Representative claimed 8% of tweets fall in this category. The motion was defeated after intense debate.
So what?: Businesses often worry about the possible legal implications of being on Twitter. While there are often attempts in the US to suppress areas of social media they are mostly headline grabs for politicians and not anything that will restrict use of Twitter or other social media outlets.
It’s important to follow the legal flow of social media so that your company’s use of social media outlets is not going to put the company or individuals at risk. The political environment will play an important role in how social media evolves in the legal system. There is precious little legal precedence established at this point in time so it is a bit of a Wild West situation that merits constant monitoring.
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