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A judge ordered Twitter to hand over data about an Occupy Wall Street protester arrested last year at a march on the Brooklyn Bridge. The NY judge claims that people who tweet publicly have "no reasonable expectation of privacy." The judge compared tweeting to screaming that information out of a window (contrasted to private communications like email, direct message or a private chat).

Twitter is not happy with the court order. A spokesperson for the company said that "Twitter's Terms of Service have long made it absolutely clear that its users 'own' their content... We continue to have a steadfast commitment to our users and their rights."

Man, and all this time I was just worried that my mom might read my tweets.

A very slippery slope littered with banana peels and vegetable oil.

Yes indeed, Matt. This is a good reminder to err on the side of caution. What we put on the internet is more permanent than a tattoo.

So....no parties at Charlie Sheen's house.

Say it and forget it, write it and regret it.

People say some outlandish things on social networks because they feel insulated from retribution.I really feel that people don't take that extra second to think about just WHO will see their words. On the bright side, many criminals post their criminal activities on social networks and that makes the polices job much easier!!

We have to proceed with caution in such a connected world. I think Margaret got it right; "write it and regret it." We can't really forget it, people in the heat of the moment post something silly because they're upset and the damage is done. I don't think we live in a world where "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me", our words echo on and can be pulled up on Google for everyone to see!

Check out the following article from the Washington Post, "Skype makes chats and user data more available to police." This takes the issue to a new level. Does law enforcement have a right to your private conversations? I think the answer is that there may not be any such thing as a private conversation. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/skype-makes-chats-and-user-data-more-available-to-police/2012/07/25/gJQAobI39W_story.html?wpisrc=al_excl

Lisa, Private pertains to between you and another person through speech. When you introduce the use of the WEB as a means to communicate it goes from private to public. It is a slippery slope and with antiquated/insufficient laws there are a lot of loopholes that authorities use to interecept transmissions. and lets not forget the Patriot Act.

I think that soon if not now every form of communication will be public unless you are in the "privacy" of your own home speaking with someone one on one, which I still feel that big brother is watching you. Text messages and even phone conversations I feel aren't that private anymore. What is going on with the world today?