As it was in 2014:
Many of us use the social networking site Facebook as a convenient way of keeping up with family and friends, sharing personal news, and maybe sometimes as an outlet to vent about our troubles. Your college friend got engaged: Yay! Your cousin got a promotion at work: Awesome! Your co-worker’s relationship status went from “married” to “separated”: uh oh. If you’re a Facebook user, I’m sure you’re aware that a wide variety of life events are commonly shared with “Facebook friends”.
In an age when social media promises to become an ever-more prominent part of our lives, any responsible adult, especially a parent, needs to be concerned about what their social media presence means legally. Attorneys have found Facebook and other social media sites to be a treasure trove of evidence to use in divorce and child custody cases. The real-life scenarios are too numerous and too heartbreaking to recount in total here.
Take for example the child custody case in which a mother assured the judge she hadn’t been drinking, but the father’s attorneys were able to submit photos from Facebook showing her drinking a beer at a neighborhood bar. Pictures that may have seemed innocent when posted for “Facebook friends” to view can be quickly turned on a parent in court, where the images will be seen by the judge as evidence of irresponsible behavior and poor parental judgment. Records of Facebook posts, text messages, and emails can all be used in Texas divorce proceedings and child custody battles.
If you are involved in a divorce or child custody dispute and use social networking sites such as Facebook, keep in mind the following tips:
- Think before you post! Know that what you say on Facebook may be used against you in court, and attorneys frequently use Facebook when gathering information.
- You do not own the content on Facebook. Facebook has the right to do certain things with your information without your knowledge or consent.
- Do not secretly access your spouse’s Facebook account hoping to find damaging information. Not only is it a violation of the law to access someone else’s electronic device without permission, the information you find may be inadmissible in court.
- You may need to contact an attorney in your area to further discuss how electronic communication and information obtained from social networking sites may be used for or against you.