need help with an invasion of privacy issue

[rachel35]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? HI

I am a teacher, and a few months ago I posted a Facebook status update that joked about something inappropriate a child had said that day at school. I did not refer to the child directly and I did not spell out the bad word the child had used. However, I did say I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the year with these little ****s.

My Facebook account is closed and people can only view it if they are my friends. Pictures, comments, updates, etc... can not be viewed unless someone is my friend. Yet somehow one of the students at my school was able to hack into my facebook page, copy my status update (which had been written 2 months ago) and paste it on other students pages.

I found out about it because one particular child had sent me a friend request and I went to his page to send him a message telling him I could not accept his friend request because it is inappropriate for teachers and students to be friends. It was then that I saw on his page what the original student had posted. I called my principal immediately when I found out what had happened. She said that I personally hadn't done anything wrong since my account is closed, and that the child hacking my account, copying and pasting my old status update was the one at fault. We contacted the child and his mom got involved. We made sure he went to other children's pages and delete everything he had posted.

Now a week later some of the parentsa of the kids who had the status posted to their pages (for 4 hours) are irate and trying to get my principal to fire me. She is trying to appease the parents by back-dating a formal reprimand and telling them I have been "written up". She also wants me to meet with 2 angry parents at a meeting Wednesday morning. Although she was originally on my side she is now turning to theirs. They are saying I have disgraced the school and they want a harsher reprimand. I have no one on my side to represent me in the meeting. I don't know what to do.

I would appreciate any legal advice available. I feel my privacy has been invaded and yet I am the one who is going to be punished.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[ecmst12]

Danger of posting things on the internet.

 

[quincy]

Hawaii recognizes four invasion of privacy torts, however the two that could potentially apply in your situation require a "reasonable expectation of privacy," and postings online are tricky. There really should be no expectation of privacy when you post online, as ecmst said.

Your best bet may be to consult with a lawyer about the Hawaii Computer Crime Statute. Section 708 may apply and, if it does, then the students could potentially be charged with knowingly accessing a computer without authorization, which is a 3rd degree misdemeanor.

If you consult with an attorney and discuss with him the situation you find yourself in, he can perhaps come up with some other legal bullets, if the computer crime doesn't fit. At least then you can go to this meeting with the parents with some ammunition to use against their children.

Although what you said online was unprofessional, and saying anything derogatory about those you work with or for can cause myriad problems, the children here are not exactly blameless. I hope the parents are made to realize that.

 

[ecmst12]

But nothing can stop the school district from firing you if they choose to.

 

[gramercy]

If you are a member of the Hawaii State Teachers Union, you should be able to contact your local steward to represent you at this meeting. Most meetings that may potentially involve discipline can be delayed until you have access to a union rep there on your behalf.

 

[butterflyrodeo]

Even if you deleted your account, your pages will remain in servers that have not been refreshed or updated. You old pages can still be visible until all the servers have been refreshed. I consider the internet is a public forum whether I have a private page or not. Comments on sites like myspace can be googled back to your private account. Facebook is a little better at suppressing the content.

 

[rachel35]

thanks

I appreciate everyone's comments.