Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty.
Fifteen charges and all Guilty.
I am referring to the case of a New Jersey/USA student who was on trial for spying on his roommate with a webcam and then using the usual social tools to spread the word and share the view.
The roommate committed suicide – the trial wasn’t really about that; there was no charge for the death – but it clearly was about that: Unintended consequences made the charges that much more real…if you will.
Sadly – the verdict will not bring back the dead – but it might drive a stake in the endlessly shifting sands where law meets technology.
I’ve written about this before – accountability for posting, accountability for sharing, accountability for what we say online – or anywhere for that matter.
Anonymity is not acceptable unless you are in fear of your life – hiding behind some vague notion of liberty and freedom of speech while you deny others theirs is absurd – yet it is accepted by many….
Read the story of the trial – youth, freedom of speech, digital openness and social liberty are not excuses – this may or may not be a landmark – I hope it is…
Bottom line, we cannot allow people to harm others because they have convinced themselves they have a right…listen:
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Voltaire
Gotta love Voltaire.
Also interesting how the digital footprint was used – card swipes, surveillance cameras, computer usage, twitter feeds – wild – if that isn’t a lesson, I don’t know what is.
Read the case – how would you have voted had you been on the jury…?
WHAT DO YOU THINK???
this is shocking.
and it shows that poor education as well as a narrowed view on the world & life (be it due to ethics, religions, parties etc) leads to fear – fear of the unknown, fear of something’s (or others) being different. in this case: fear of a man being gay.
(so, a very good choice using the voltaire quote)
on the technology element you’re mentioning – to me (digital) tech isn’t something that makes a good man turn evil. it just makes it easier for people with a certain mindset to go further, and that student certainly woudn’t have stopped had he had even more advanced tech.
it’s also interesting to read some people saying he was just 18 and therefore couldn’t oversee what he was doing. well, if 18 year olds are too young to oversee things, we shouldn’t let them drive cars or vote.
ignorancia legis non excusat – I don’t know if that goes with the U.S. law system as it does over here in germany, but if it does, I wonder why the intimidations of mr. ravi – which made a young man commit suicide – are not part of the trial. I’m no pessimist, I’m actually hoping it has nothing to do with the victim being gay.
With technology comes power, and with power comes responsibility – something that seem’s to have gotten lost along the way. Lest we remind ourselves in the communciation game that we share the same responsibilty in terms of what we communicate.There are consequence’s to the messages we put out, so take a moment and ponder those before you do.
Technology + Social Media in the hands of our young children today have shown to cause atrocities. It is sad, but hopefully a verdict of guilty will help deter repeaters!
I hope it is landmark also. Digital accountability is not different than real life accountability. What we say and how we act is a reflection of who we are. Why is it that people assume that its different? With the digital finger prints that we leave, why would someone think that they would not get caught for posting or attempting to damage another?