JUDGE RULES 'PRIVATE' FACEBOOK DATA CAN BE USED AS EVIDENCE

In a ruling on a  personal injury case New York Justice Jeffery Spinner has ruled that data marked as private on social networks like Facebook and MySpace can be used as evidence in court.

The case was brought by the plaintiff against a chair company.  The chair company wanted access to her private pictures and wall postings.  Justice Spinner agreed that her public postings suggested a "reasonable likelihood" that her private stuff would contain evidence material to the trial.

Conversely, a judge in California ruled the exact opposite and kept the private information out of the court. [Engadget]