TheStar.com‘s Tracey Tyler reported on March 14, 2008, Toronto, Canada:
In a precedent-setting decision, a Toronto judge has ordered a man suing over injuries from a car accident to answer questions about content on his Facebook page that is off limits to the public.
Lawyers for Janice Roman, the defendant, in the lawsuit, believe information posted on John Leduc’s private Facebook site – normally accessible only to his “approved friends” – may be relevant to his claim an accident in Lindsay in 2004 lessened his enjoyment in life.
As a result of the ruling by Judge David Brown of Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, Leduc must now submit to cross-examination by Roman’s lawyers about what his Facebook page contains.
What if Mr. Leduc has recent photos of himself running with bulls or climbing Kilamanjaro. Well, this is Canada so he might just be shoveling snow. Still, the images behind the curtain may just indicate that unlike many Canadians, Mr. Leduc was having fun this winter.
Now what? Now his case is dismissed and every laywer in the country will want to have full access to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.
[Judge] Brown said Leduc can’t,”hide behind self-set privacy controls” on a website that’s all about telling others about one’s life.
The ripple effect from this decision in a small town in Canada could have titanic ramifications. If that doesn’t send a chill up your privacy bone, what will?