MySpace's "Drunken Pirate" sues college over denial of degree

Posted Apr 30th 2007 8:50PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Products and Services, Law, Internet, Marketing and Advertising, Scandals, News Corp'B' (NWS)

News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace subsidiary has gotten another user in trouble.

Millersville University denied Stacy Snyder a teaching certificate on the eve of her graduation after finding a picture of her on MySpace with the caption "Drunken Pirate." The case looks like it could be a landmark for internet privacy rights.

According to the Associated Press, "The photo, taken at a 2005 Halloween party, shows Snyder wearing a pirate hat while drinking from a plastic "Mr. Goodbar" cup." The school's Dean accused Ms. Snyder of promoting underage drinking, according to her lawsuit.

The case may actually have ramifications for MySpace, Facebook, and other social-networking websites, although I suspect that StockPickr.com won't be effected (although you could probably justify firing someone for holding Novastar Financial).

If a court rules that people can lose jobs or diplomas for content on their MySpace pages, will people still want to have them? Will the content on the site become so watered-down that it won't be fun anymore?

For employers, MySpace may be a wonderful tool for screening potential employees. Even if the courts rule that colleges can't deny diplomas based on MySpace content, you can bet that some firms won't hire individuals with objectionable content in their profiles.

Tags: FaceBook, Myspace

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-30-2007 @ 11:29PM

boredwell said...

#1-How did MySpace get another user in trouble? Or was it the user who got herself in trouble?

#2-How was the Dean made aware of "the pirate"- Vis a vis another student? Or was the dean looking for all her graduating students' profiles w/pix?
Have Human Resource Depts become voyeurs, sleuths and kangaroo court judges? There should a Web Peeping Tom law against that!

3-That Dean needs to take a chill pill! The photos were innocuous. The Dean based her decision on personal bias. The suppositions regarding the teacher behaviour & resulting student impact is fortune-telling.

4-Veteran users should be careful when exposing themselves on MySpace or any other web meeting sites. A Delta Flight attendant got into trouble for a risque picture wearing her uniform and was fired.

5-General caveat: block unwanted visitors. Or don't put in compromising pix or anything else that might be "compromising." But someone can always find something and they will complain that compromises their personal value system.These are the same people who gave your grade school teacher unsolicited information..."so and so did this or that." That kind is difficult to ignore.

6-Gosh, I want Ms Snyder to get her diploma! I want that dean to get a pink slip.