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2012/18: Does social media, including Facebook, assist in law enforcement?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:A March 12, 2012, Channel Ten news report giving an account of the manner in which Queensland Police is using social media to fight crime.. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'If they're going to make a lot of money out of the community, they've got to invest in the community too ... behave appropriately and ensure that Facebook doesn't incite hatred or doesn't act in a way that undermines the legal system'
Victorian Chief Commissioner, Ken Lay, commenting on Facebook's refusal to take down pages without a court order
'I just don't think jurors will be influenced by what they read on social media in the way authorities fear'
Justin Quill, a director of Kelly Hazell Quill Lawyers
The issue at a glance
On October 5, 2012, Australia's attorneys-general met in Brisbane to discuss social media's impact on the right to a fair trial.
The Victorian Attorney-General, Robert Clark, will lead a group to create national guidelines on social media after fears that comments on Facebook and Twitter could jeopardise the trial of the man accused of killing ABC journalist Jill Meagher.
The working group will be comprised of mainstream and social media representatives, judicial officers and police.
It will make recommendations on how to regulate the spread of prejudicial material on social media, including warnings for users (which courts and police could issue on Facebook or Twitter) and protocols for social media companies.
It will also propose directions that courts can give to juries on social media, examine laws that detail juror offences and assess what research was needed to determine how social media affected jurors' decisions.
The disappearance and then murder of Jill Meagher focused a great deal of attention on the role of social media in law enforcement. Meagher's family used social media in an attempt to locate the missing woman; while social media was one of the means by which Victoria Police circulated CCTV footage of Meagher taken some time before she was assaulted and killed. These uses have highlighted the advantages that social media can offer. The subsequent misuse of social media by those who have denigrated the accused in this case has highlighted some of the dangers it represents.
Legal and media experts are awaiting with interest the findings of the working party investigating social media's impact on the legal system.