Aussie court OKs using Facebook for serving lien

[MrsCat 6]

By ROD McGUIRK

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The repo man wants to "poke" you on Facebook. The bill collector is writing on your wall. What are you doing right now?

After a court in Australia ruled a mortgage lender can use Facebook to break the news to a couple that they have lost their home, the global social networking Web sites are threatened with turning a little more anti-social.

Some people are concerned that such court-approved contact with their social networks such as Facebook and MySpace could amount to a violation of privacy.

"I don't think people sign up to Facebook thinking it's going to be another avenue by which a government agency or indeed a debt collector can contact them," said Colin Jacobs, vice chairman of the technology advocacy group Electronic Frontiers Australia.

"If we expect that we'll only be contacted on an official basis through the phone or post or through a visitor, and now it's coming through a more personal social networking conduit, then I don't think many people will be happy with that," he added.

. . . . . .

U.S. users don't have to worry about being served through the program yet. Legal rules list several acceptable delivery methods, but not surprisingly, Facebook isn't included, said Rory Ryan, a Baylor Law School associate professor who maintains a blog on such issues.

"There are some options for electronic service or judge-authorized alternatives, but I think it's safe to say that social-networking service will be rare for quite some time," Ryan said.

Lawyers say they cannot recall a precedent for the Dec. 12 ruling in Canberra's local Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court that allowed lender MKM Capital to use Facebook to serve legal documents after weeks of failed attempts to contact borrowers Gordon Poyser and Carmel Corbo at their Canberra home and by e-mail.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt praised the ruling.

"We're pleased to see the Australian court validate Facebook as a reliable, secure and private medium for communication," he said.

"The ruling is also an interesting indication of the increasing role that Facebook is playing in people's lives," Schnitt added. The company said it believed this was the first time it has been used to serve a foreclosure notice.

Australian courts have given permission for people to be served via e-mail and text messages when it was not possible to serve them in person.

. . . . .

"It does change the rules of the game because people thought of these as social sites; now they can be used to serve official court documents and it may change the way people establish a presence on the social networks and the way they use them," Fraser said.

The case shows "that Facebook is not a toy," said Josh Bernoff, author of "Groundswell," a best-seller on social media. "You have to look at this and recognize ... it's a communications channel used for everything."

Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at the Pew Internet Project, said the Australian case went beyond the generally accepted bounds of Facebook use. "There's a question of whether the users of Facebook envision it being used in this way."

She said a social network site is a well-accepted means of communication typically used by a network or circle of friends, not for commercial transactions.

Associated Press writer Josef Federman in New York and a reporter in San Francisco contributed to this story.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...eyxpEwD9543S7O1

[mawilson 2,133]

Sorry MrsCat - beat you to it!

mawilson's post dated Dec 16, 2008: Australian lawyer serves papers via Facebook

[MrsCat 6]

^ Wow I'm behind the times.

Sorry MrsCat - beat you to it!

mawilson's post dated Dec 16, 2008: Australian lawyer serves papers via Facebook

well if someone was going to beat me to it, then I'm glad it was you.

[Amby 490]

^ Wow I'm behind the times.

Sorry MrsCat - beat you to it!

mawilson's post dated Dec 16, 2008: Australian lawyer serves papers via Facebook

well if someone was going to beat me to it, then I'm glad it was you.

I love how he added the date

[mawilson 2,133]

^ Wow I'm behind the times.

Sorry MrsCat - beat you to it!

mawilson's post dated Dec 16, 2008: Australian lawyer serves papers via Facebook

well if someone was going to beat me to it, then I'm glad it was you.

I love how he added the date

[Amby 490]

^ Wow I'm behind the times.

Sorry MrsCat - beat you to it!

mawilson's post dated Dec 16, 2008: Australian lawyer serves papers via Facebook

well if someone was going to beat me to it, then I'm glad it was you.

I love how he added the date

well just pointing out she's 5 days late and all

[MrsCat 6]

I love how he added the date