Gag-Order Issued for Facebook and Twitter

In an attempt to prevent the spreading of sensitive information, a judge in Britain has banned Twitter and Facebook users, among others, from revealing details about a brain-damaged woman involved in a recent UK case. The order was issued in the Court of Protection regarding the case of a mother looking to withdraw life support from her brain damaged daughter. The ban seeks to prevent users from identifying the brain-damaged woman and her caregivers.

The difficulty with such an order, very much like the Election Canada’s recent ban on early transmission of polling results, is enforcement.  The easy anonymity granted by the respect social media sites means the effectivness of such bans can only rely on people’s willingness to follow the ruling rather than any ability to force it on them.