YES! It is important to monitor your online profile and activity in this modern age. More and more courts are allowing online activity to be discussed in court. “There are strictly defined legal limits on what information can be lifted and what is in the private domain and can be obtained only through legal procedures like subpoenas, depositions and discovery.” NYT 5/13/11.
Many people do not set their privacy settings high which may make their online activity in the public domain and easily used against them in court. Even if your settings are limited, it is important to re-evaluate your settings from time to time. Maybe one of your 300 facebook friends is also facebook friends with your future ex-spouse and they post a picture of you doing something you would rather keep private and not discussed in open court. In fact, “sixty-six percent of the attorneys surveyed by the AAML [American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers] called Facebook the unrivaled leader for online divorce evidence, followed by MySpace (15 percent) and Twitter (5 percent).” AJC 2/11/10.
If you are going through a divorce or child custody issue and have questions about your online profile and security, contact our office at http://bechtold-law.com/Contact.HTML for professional legal advice.