British Court Issues Writ via Twitter
In yet another milestone in the saga that is the worldwide invasion of Twitter, a U.K. court has Tweeted an injunction for the first time ever. Saying that Twitter offered the best means of contacting a suspect accused of impersonating right wing blogger Donal Blaney, Britain's high court, in tweeting the writ, may have forged a new nexus between blogosphere and the courtroom. Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis of Strathclyde University, a law professor, called the judicial tweet a "landmark decision," saying that this could very well be the start of a new courtroom trend. Citing the normally tedious, "cumbersome" way in which legal systems normally function, Komaitis declared the use of such a new, instantaneous tool as Twitter an "impressive engagement."
The accused online impersonator will get a message from the court the next time he or she opens the rogue Twitter account, detailing the writ. Prosecutors and legal experts hope that this step taken by the High Court represents a new way to bypass the anonymity of the Internet that so many impersonators and fraud experts hide behind. Twitter has already taken several measures to try to guarantee the authenticity of the people supposedly behind its accounts, including a special seal for "high profile" Tweeters like Ashton Kutcher, who has several clones on the site.
We think it's a good idea for courts and legal systems to take advantage of the accessibility and speed that new social networking mediums offer, at least with respect to jurisprudential efficiency. We're not sure, though, that this really represents that much of a sea change in the fight against online identity impersonation. Especially within the framework of networks like Facebook and Twitter, people can open and close accounts with incredible ease and speed, and certain faux doppelgangers will likely continue to evade authorities. Still, though, the fact that an institution as historically staid and stilted as the British High Court actually embraced something like Twitter-using fire to fight fire-is encouraging, to say the least. [From: Reuters]
