Just because it’s online and we aren’t actually talk to another person face-to-face, it does not mean that we get to do what we want. We’ve seen how some people have gotten into trouble just by what they post or share on Facebook, and now a report from the New York Law Journal (registration required; via CNET) has revealed that a woman now faces potential jail time over the simple act of tagging her sister-in-law on Facebook.So what happened? Basically the woman in question, Maria Gonzalez, was under a protection order and was told not to contact her sister-in-law, Maribel Calderon. However she decided otherwise and tagged Calderon on Facebook in which she called her “stupid” and added, “You and your family are sad…You guys have to come stronger than that!! I’m way over you guys but I guess not in ya agenda.”
This essentially violated the court order as it counted as a form of communication, and because of that Gonzalez has since been charged with second-degree criminal contempt and could face jail time of up to 1 year. Her lawyer argues that the order did not specifically exclude communications via Facebook, but Acting Westchester County Supreme Court Justice Susan Capeci disagreed, saying that the order, which reads “by electronic or any other means”, covers Facebook as well.