Social media poses challenge for publication bans
Could be considered contempt of court
Vancouver Sun – May 12, 2010
By Douglas Quan

When a judge in Brockville, Ont., imposed a publication ban in a domestic assault case last week, the local newspaper obeyed, reporting the suspect's age and hometown, but withholding his name.

Just before the ruling came down, however, a Facebook site went up giving not only the suspect's name, but posting three pictures of him. More than 1,000 people have since joined that group.

The case highlights what experts say is an emerging legal conundrum: How effective are publication bans in an age when information about cases can be uploaded with a few key strokes and zapped around the world? Do publication bans even apply to social networking sites?

Figuratively speaking, "the Internet allows us to talk to a whole lot of neighbours over a lot of fences," said Dean Jobb, an associate professor of journalism at the University of King's College in Halifax and author of Media Law for Canadian Journalists.

"The Internet opens up such a widespread possibility of the law being ignored. That creates a challenge."

Jobb says "the Internet makes everyone a publisher" and once banned information is posted online, you open yourself to contempt of court charges.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police, a 45-year-old Prescott, Ont., man was arrested late last month and charged with eight counts of assault, sexual assault, mischief under $5,000, uttering a death threat, forcible confinement and breach of undertaking.

At a court hearing last week, the judge ordered a publication ban to preserve the rights of the defendant to a fair trial and to protect the identity of the alleged victim, according to a court clerk.

But another Prescott resident, Rodney Hurlbert – the man behind the Facebook page – said he felt duty-bound to notify other residents that the suspect, who has previously been convicted of sex offences involving children, had been arrested again.

"He's quite possibly going to reoffend again," Hurlbert said. "He didn't get it the last time."

Whether authorities go after someone like Hurlbert may depend on how many people received that information.

His site also links to a Facebook page created by the alleged victim in the current case, who spells out how she came to know the suspect and her interactions with him. The alleged victim, who is an adult, defends her site saying that people need to know about offenders to keep communities safe and aware.

Hurlbert said he would fight any order to take down the site.

Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney-General, said sites such as Hurlbert's are not immune to court-imposed bans.

"Social media sites, like all other forms of media, are subject to and governed by publication bans," Crawley said.

Crawley said he isn't aware of any action that has ever been taken against a social media site for an alleged breach of a publication ban.

Heidi Illingworth, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Victims of Crime, said she understands the anger residents feel and their desire to get information out about offenders, but said the job of notifying the public about dangerous offenders is best left to the police.