Is It Illegal to Tweet Lies?

November 8, 2012 by 4 Comments

Last week during Hurricane Sandy, many of us turned to Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates about the storm. An anonymous person using the handle @ComfortablySmug made several tweets.

  • BREAKING: Con Edison has begun shutting down all power in Manhattan
  • BREAKING: Governor Cuomo is trapped in Manhattan. Has been taken to a secure shelter
  • BREAKING: Confirmed flooding on NYSE. The trading floor is flooded under more than 3 feet of water.

It was later revealed that the information was false, but not before these tweets were retweeted more than 500 times according to reports.

Buzzfeed’s Jack Stuef investigated the situation and determined that the anonymous tweeter was Shashank Tripathi, a campaign manager for Republican congressional candidate Christopher Wight. Tripathi has since resigned from his position and tweeted an apology for posting inaccurate information. That was his latest tweet from that account.

The New York District Attorney’s Office was asked to pursue criminal charges against Tripathi for his irresponsible tweeting. It will be interesting to see if he’s charged.

What Might He Be Charged With?
In many situations, it’s not illegal to lie unless you’re entering realms like fraud or identity theft. I did some digging in the Arizona criminal code and I could see a prosecutor making an argument that a person who posts inaccurate information during an emergency could be charged with electronic harassment, falsely reporting an emergency or causing public panic, creating a hoax, or possibly something along the lines of disorderly conduct.

Some of these crimes, like electronic harassment, require a victim and Tripathi didn’t appear to have a target. I wonder if issues like this might make the prosecution’s job harder.

What About Tripathi’s Right to be Anonymous?
Yes, the First Amendment protects your right to free speech, including your right to speak anonymously. It does not guarantee your anonymity. If you want to be anonymous, you have the responsibility of not making it easy for others to figure out who you are. Apparently @ComfortablySmug was unmasked because he posted censored pictures of himself and the uncensored version was easily discovered and revealed his identity.

If he committed a crime, his right to be anonymous also went out the window.

What do you think should happen to Shashank Tripathi? Should he be charged with a crime for tweeting lies about Hurricane Sandy? Please share your opinion as a comment below.

If you want to learn more about your online dos and don’ts, check out my book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed.
You can also connect with me via Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or you can email me.
Please visit my homepage for more information about Carter Law Firm.

Filed Under: Cyberbullying & Cyberharassment, Internet law Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ruth Carter’s Speaking Schedule – May 2012

April 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Ignite Phoenix #5 by Sheila Dee

Ignite Phoenix #5 by Sheila Dee

May is going to be an exciting month for me because I have four speaking engagements in Phoenix! I’m really excited to get out and talk about intellectual property and social media law. I like to keep my talks casual, interactive, and provide useful information to the audience.  I hope you’ll come out and have fun with me. Here’s where you can find me . . .

Trademark Basics
Wednesday, May 9, 2012 – 6pm
Midweek Mind Tweak – Co+Hoots
This is an interactive discussion about what a trademark is, the strength of attendees’ trademarks, and the benefit of registering your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Why You Need a Social Media Policy
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 – 5pm
Midweek Mind Tweak – Co+Hoots
Every company needs a social media policy for their employees, but if you create one that is too broad, you might have to pay over $10,000 for violating the National Labor Relations Act. It’s a problem that is easy to fix, if you know what the law is.

The Legalities of Blogging
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 – 12pm
GP Brownbag – Gangplank Chandler
A spoke a few weeks ago at Gangplank Academy about the legal side of blogging, and they asked me back to present a condensed version as a brownbag discussion. I’ll be presenting the 8 questions you should ask yourself before you publish a blog post.

Adapting Licensed Properties to Comics
Thursday, May 24, 2012 – 7pm
Phoenix Comicon – Phoenix Convention Center
I’m so excited to speak at Phoenix Comicon. The thought fills my little geek heart with joy. I’m going to be talking with sci-fi and comic book fans about copyright issues related to creating fan fiction, fan art, and slash fiction. It’s going to be so much fun!

I hope I get to see you at one or all of my talks!

Filed Under: Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Legalities of Blogging Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

8 Questions to Ask Before Posting a Blog

March 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
No I'm Blogging This by Andre Charland

No I'm Blogging This by Andre Charland

I taught a class this week at Gangplank, an awesome collaborative co-working space in Chandler, on some of the legalities of blogging. It was part of Gangplank Academy. As I was going through my notes in preparation of this class, it occurred to me that there are some critical questions every blogger should ask themselves before publishing a new blog post.

1. Is all the information in your blog verifiable?

2. Is every statement that isn’t verifiable indisputable?
Statements like “My knee hurts like it’s going to rain tomorrow” and “My favorite color is blue” may not be verifiable, but there’s no one who can say those statements aren’t true.

3. Do you accuse anyone of committing a crime?
It’s one thing to say, “My neighbor gives me the creeps,” but you might get sued if you say, “In my opinion, my neighbor’s a pedophile.”

4. Are you sharing any information that you learned in confidence?
When you break up with your partner, don’t write a blog post sharing all the personal information you learned during the relationship like their weird fetishes and habits.

5. Are any of your statements misrepresentations or half-truths?

6. Do any of your statements insinuate anything that isn’t true?
If you write a blog about how you don’t like seeing drug users in the park and you include a photo of a person lying in the grass with their eyes closed, they may be unhappy and sue you if they’re not a drug user but were only taking a nap.

7. Is all your information public? Are you writing about a topic where your subject might have an expectation of privacy?
Your neighbor has no expectation of privacy in how he looks naked if you saw him at a public nude beach. He does if you had to creep up to his house and peer through the cracks in his closed blinds to see him.

8. Is all your information from reputable sources?
If you copy or repeat someone’s defamatory statement, even if you didn’t know it was false, you might get sued for defamation.

I love bloggers who push the envelope and sometimes it’s hard to know when you’re crossing the line. When in doubt, consult a lawyer who is a media expert and always follow my rule: “Never put anything online that you wouldn’t put on the front page of the newspaper.”

Filed Under: Geek Law, Legalities of Blogging Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why I Opened A Solo Law Firm

January 23, 2012 by 6 Comments
Office Coffee by Mauricio Lima

Office Coffee by Mauricio Lima

It’s still a bit surreal to think in the last four years I went to law school, passed the bar exam, opened a law firm, and have goals of becoming a leader in my niche areas of practice.

When I started law school, I was spoon-fed the idea that every lawyer should aspire to clerk for a judge and work at a big law firm with the goal of becoming a partner. When I started working in the legal field, I realized that I didn’t want any of that. I don’t want to be trapped in an office 60 hours/week, working on cases I don’t care about, and setting myself up to have a severe chemical dependency problem, a heart attack, or a nervous breakdown before turning 40.

I’ve been a blogger for the last two years. During that time, I’ve developed passions for intellectual property, internet law, flash mob law, and preventing cyberbullying. I also had the pleasure of working in the Innovation Advancement Program at Arizona State University where I worked with entrepreneurs to get their endeavors off the ground. It was such a joy to help them breathe life into their dreams.

When people ask me where I work, I love that I get to respond, “In my laptop.” I have a virtual law office, which means I can work almost anywhere that I have wi-fi and a power outlet. I am not encumbered by a formal office or staff. With this autonomy comes more options for myself and my clients.

When I reflect on why I decided to open Carter Law Firm, one word comes to mind: “freedom.” I have the law career I’ve always wanted. I get to work on cases I’m passionate about and with interesting clients. It also gives me time to be a public speaker on legal issues and to blog posts and ebooks.

Opening this firm is the beginning of an incredible adventure. I’m excited for what’s to come.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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