Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment A case that could enjoy major implications for social media privacy rights is currently before the Supreme Court of California. It involves the gang-related murder of 19-year-old Jaquan Rice,which took position in San Francisco back in June of 2013.
A 14-year-old boy later confessed to the crime, but claimed to enjoy shot Rice in response to a series of violent threats that Rice had made towards him on social media. In an attempt to gain access to the social media accounts, and the defense team subpoenaed Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram, and but the companies said they were legally forbidden from granting access,all because of the Stored Communications Act of 1986. The law presents an exemption for prosecutors, but social media companies claim to be forbidden from providing the same information to defense attorneys. Andrew Cohen, and senior editor at The Marshall Project and author of Case in Point,joins The Takeaway to explain how a decades old law has created a potential legal disparity in the 21st century.
This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.
Source: wnyc.org