Laws governing what is considered private and public information on the Internet are required, according to a technology expert in Montreal.

With insurance companies, employers and lawyers turning to Facebook searches to gather supporting evidence for legal action, debates have emerged over whether the information you post online should be used against you in court.

Case in point: Nathalie Blanchard from Quebec, a 29-year-old woman who went on disability leave more than a year ago for severe depression.  Blanchard’s long-term disability benefits were terminated over photos her insurance company discovered on her Facebook profile.

Based on various photos of a smiling Blanchard celebrating her birthday and bathing in the sun, Manulife, her insurance company, concluded she was no longer depressed and cut off her monthly cheques.

Blanchard however, argues that Manulife made a shortsighted decision by diagnosing her as depression-free based on the photos she posted.

“I’m not going to put pictures of myself crying on Facebook,” Blanchard said. “I’m sick and I don’t need everyone to know it …  the 500 friends I have on Facebook don’t need to know I’m suffering from depression.”

She has filed a civil lawsuit against the firm to have her benefits reinstated and is seeking $275,000 in damages.

A rep from Manulife declined to comment on the incident, only stating “we would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook.”

How Manulife carried out their investigation remains unclear, given Blanchard’s photos were exclusively made available to her Facebook network.  But according to Carmi Levy, an independent technology analyst, the notion that privacy exists on these types of platforms is “laughable.”

“The mere fact that you have subscribed to this service and you are putting any personally identifiable information on it – whether it be text based, photos, video, audio – then you’re accepting the potential at some point it will go public,” Levy explained.

“It should give pause to anyone who uses these services that anything they put online can at some point come back to bite them,” Levy added.

Kiwi Commons Internet Safety Experts urge all Internet users to get to know both the privacy policies and privacy and security settings on websites before posting any personal information online.  
Get educated on the risks before using a service, and first ask yourself:

• Who could access the information I post on the site?
• Is the information personally identifiable in any way?
• Am I happy with what it says and how it represents me?
• How could the information be used today or ten years down the road?
• Is the site secure? Look for a padlock icon in the bottom right hand corner of your browser
• Will the site protect my information? Will they enforce their privacy statement?
• By agreeing to the terms of service, do I grant the service a license to use my information and content?

  i)   If so, what purpose will they use my information for? Commercial purposes?   
  ii)  Does that include the rights to reproduce, modify, adapt, sell and publish my information and content?
  iii) Will my information be sold to third-party applications and external companies as well?
  If so, is there an option to opt out?

Sources:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gIrsrR0MC9EOlhFJeZcHlvGpHaFg
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jo36kPKynkgEGHOyNdSuSRdAGHuQ

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