cover image I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

Lori Andrews. Free Press, $26 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4516-5051-8

"With more than 750 million members, Facebook's population would make it the third largest nation in the world." Noted by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, Andrews is concerned with the lawless frontiers of this figurative nation%E2%80%94how can social networks ensure freedom of speech while protecting the individual against anonymous threats, charges, and harassment? In order to defend "the People of the Facebook/Twitter/Google/YouTube/MySpace Nation," Andrews (Future Perfect) investigates the myriad ways in which social networking is unpoliced (or over-policed, in some cases), and proposes a constitution for the digital age. Up-to-date legal recourse for victims of cyberbullying is essentially nonexistent%E2%80%94 Lori Drew, the mother of one of teenager Megan Meier's former friends, created a fake MySpace profile to harass Megan, who ended up killing herself. Due to the lack of applicable digital harassment laws, Drew's conviction was overturned and she was set free. On the other hand, students have been expelled for posting negative comments online about their schools, and one teacher was forced to resign due to a Facebook photo showing her drinking a beer. Andrews' "The Social Network Constitution" echoes familiar amendments, such as "The Right to Free Speech and Freedom of Expression," but some are bespoke for the digital age, like "The Right to Control One's Image." This book will make readers rethink their online lives, and Andrews' Constitution is a great start to an important conversation. (Jan.)