One of the most mocked elements of Facebook from non-users is the ability to “poke” other users. But it’s serious business… especially if you are subject to a restraining order.

As anyone who uses the site knows, the Facebook poke is not exactly the core feature of the service. (For those who don’t know, it simply brings up a message on the “poked” user’s page informing them of said poke.) For most people, its main use is for weak flirting with users in your area who have an attractive photograph, or for situations where you think you recognize someone from your old school but can’t quite muster the energy to write and make sure. What most people don’t realize is that the poke does have a specific function: if you’ve set your profile to be private, poking another user will temporarily give them access to it.

Now, while it may be the communication of the lazy or shy, a Facebook poke is undoubtedly a form of communication. And that’s a big problem if a court has previously ordered “no telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating with the petitioner.”

That’s what happened with Shannon Jackson of Hendersonville, Tenn., who is currently subject to a court order banning her from contacting another Hendersonville woman. She’s now been arrested for violating the order, with prosecutors showing the court a copy of the other woman’s Facebook profile showing the poke. Jackson now faces a fine and a prison sentence of 364 days.

It’s the latest in a series of cases where legal systems have adjusted to the social networking site, including a British teenage user being jailed for cyberbullying, a court giving permission for a mortgage firm to serve an eviction order through the site, and a dimwitted burglar getting nabbed after using a victim’s computer to log into his account during a raid – then forgetting to log out.

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Entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 10:05 am under Legal, Social Media.

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