In January 2016 a student at Hamilton High School in Chandler was arrested after posting a threat to the school on Snapchat. Although the student claimed that the threat was intended to be a joke, the student was taken into custody and could have faced serious consequences. Why? Because posting a threat on social media is a potential criminal offense.
Technology
This category encompasses articles involving artificial intelligence, computers, smartphones, software, coding, hacking, other electronic products, companies that create these technologies, and any other article topic related to technology. Write an article with your thoughts on current or past technology!
This time of year people are spending more and now with the convenience of technology we can check on our phones to see how our bank balance is doing. But is it safe? It turns out the answer is a little more complicated than yes or no. Luckily, Safe & Secure Mobile Banking, has the answers for you in detail so you can protect yourself while still keeping your finances in check.
Well, while driving that is. A new Arizona bill, SB 1080, that is currently making its way through the Legislature would ban teenagers from texting while driving for the first six months of their license. Arizona is currently one of four states that does not have a statewide law on texting while driving. Legislatures have been working on passing a bill for the state for the last ten years and many believe that this new ban will be the gateway for Arizona to have a stricter law for all drivers. Let us know how you feel about the new possible law in our What do you think? section.
This week a woman who was trying to take a spectacular selfie made a misstep that ended up with her plummeting 60 feet from the girder of one of California's tallest bridges. "The bridge's off-limits underbelly seem to be a popular, but dangerous spot for social media posting;" according to CNN. This is one of many instances where a person has made a bad decision trying to get the perfect "pic" (see Mannequin Challenge Gone Wrong). Luckily, this selfie seeker did not pay the ultimate price but, her troubles may not be over. While selfies have become a way of life they are also photographic evidence of the activities you choose, legal or otherwise, and that includes trespassing. Trespassing can be a crime, to learn more visit the Laws section.
Social Media as we know it today, websites and applications that a person uses to communicate with other users, started twenty years ago in 1997 with a site called Six Degrees. Since then a lot has changed and social media has become a daily, hourly, activity for its many users. With such widespread use it was only a matter of time before the law would get involved with social media. Now major applications, like Facebook, are facing controversial choices about how their sites should be used and policed and not just by their local state or even their national governments but internationally as well. Many social media sites are being asked to crack down on fake profiles for a variety of reasons such as: the spreading of fake news and hoaxes up to more personal reason such as the use of fake profiles to harass a person or revenge porn. Some social media companies are willingly complying but others are worried about the cost both of implementing the software an their users privacy and 1st Amendment rights. While the law is trying to catch up to technology the question remains should social media companies be doing more to protect their users? Let us know your thoughts on What Do You Think?