5 ms·

I wonder what the privacy-law impact of this will be. While all of us will probably agree with a system like this to help locate convicted felons, what about p

by zupreme 14y ago

I wonder what the privacy-law impact of this will be. While all of us will probably agree with a system like this to help locate convicted felons, what about people who simply miss Jury Duty, forget about a court date, and so on. In an era where every HR professional worth her salt Googles every applicant with a serious shot at the job, this could prevent some people from getting much-needed employment. Worse yet, in instances where this causes people to be weeded out before even a phone interview, there is no effective way (outside of Google and the NSA) to track this type of behavior and the possible labor law violations that could result.

tptacek 14y ago
To the extent that employers want to screen candidates who skip out on jury duty, it's hard to argue that there's a "privacy" issue in outing them. Skipping jury duty should be a matter of public record. You are obligated to serve as a juror when required. Willfully avoiding a jury summons is in fact a misdemeanor crime. Don't skip jury duty. The bigger problem with posting wanted signs on social networks is that they can't be expunged. This is a real issue, but very few people ever expunge their arrest records anyways. The even bigger problem has nothing at all to do with social networks; it's that it's unfair (and probably unlawful) to screen employees by arrest record to begin with.
- zupreme 14y ago
  That is, at it's core, my point. What happens if the case is thrown out? Even if removed from Social Network X, your fugitive status will live forever in the Wayback machine, on scraping sites, and so on.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    Ultimately this has more to do with employers than police departments, though.
readme 14y ago
Well, it's worth pointing out that this issue existed before pinterest. Tons of local PD's post mugshots on their websites. Try googling the names of idiots you went to high school with. You're sure to find someone's mugshot.

by zupreme 14y ago

tptacek 14y ago

To the extent that employers want to screen candidates who skip out on jury duty, it's hard to argue that there's a "privacy" issue in outing them. Skipping jury duty should be a matter of public record. You are obligated to serve as a juror when required. Willfully avoiding a jury summons is in fact a misdemeanor crime. Don't skip jury duty. The bigger problem with posting wanted signs on social networks is that they can't be expunged. This is a real issue, but very few people ever expunge their arrest records anyways. The even bigger problem has nothing at all to do with social networks; it's that it's unfair (and probably unlawful) to screen employees by arrest record to begin with.

zupreme 14y ago
That is, at it's core, my point. What happens if the case is thrown out? Even if removed from Social Network X, your fugitive status will live forever in the Wayback machine, on scraping sites, and so on.
- tptacek 14y ago
  Ultimately this has more to do with employers than police departments, though.

readme 14y ago

Well, it's worth pointing out that this issue existed before pinterest. Tons of local PD's post mugshots on their websites. Try googling the names of idiots you went to high school with. You're sure to find someone's mugshot.