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Facebook Moderator Gets Subpoena in Wikileaks Case

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the moves-of-desperation dept.

netbuzz writes "Lawyers for the Swiss bank that got the plug pulled on Wikileaks.org have dragged a Stanford grad student/human rights activist into the case because he moderated a discussion group about Wikileaks on Facebook. He has no relation to Wikileaks or the case, other than that he helped authenticate documents — completely unrelated to the bank matter — that were posted on Wikileaks. The guy and his lawyer have done a nice job of making lemonade out of this lemon, though."

7 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. nice job the law firm is doing by nuzak · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is the same firm that on repeat occasions refused to identify its client. IANAL, but isn't that a serious breach of bar rules?

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  2. Noam Chomsky by Shambly · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apparently Noam Chomsky was also a moderator on that facebook group. It would be really interesting if he was pulled into this. Really the problem seems to be the injunction on the entire site instead of the specific documents.

  3. That is indeed like goldy, but made of iron. by discogravy · · Score: 5, Interesting
    If the meat of the article is so small, why not just post the moneyshot while you're at it?

    Mathews and his attorney, Joshua Kolten, have decided to make lemonade out of lemons: Since the bank insists Mathews has standing in the case, Mathews is asking the judge to consider the harm that the court's earlier injunction against Wikileaks has done to him; namely that it has prevented readers from accessing on Wikileaks the material he has written about subjects completely unrelated to the bank and its business.

    Whoever this kid's lawyer is, he's got a wicked sense of humor.

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  4. Facebook are bastards! by lixee · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know if you've heard of this judicial world premiere; a 26 years old Moroccan engineer was kidnapped, tortured and thrown out in jail for creating a Facebook profile using the name of the king's brother. He was charged with "villainous activities" although the only thing he did with the account was send a smiley.

    http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080310/lalami
    http://blogs.zdnet.com/threatchaos/?p=545

    Anyway, Facebook denied handing out his data to the Moroccan government, but in this so-called "terror-age", I don't buy that for a second.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120424448908501345.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news

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    1. Re:Facebook are bastards! by Dhalka226 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      So, for clarity...

      Facebook are bastards because they denied doing something and you don't believe them, despite having no actual evidence--not even really any conjecture other than a lame-ass "in this so-called 'terror age'"--that they did so?

      Gotcha.

  5. Thanks Lavely & Singer ! by greenslashpurple · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I didn't even _know_ there was a Wikileaks Facebook discussion group hosted, in part, by Noam Chomsky. I love Chomsky and would love to hear his insights into this whole debacle. Thanks Lavely and Singer!

  6. email subpeona? by sfjoe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Since when did it become valid to serve notice vbia email:

    "Plaintiffs served a copy of the TRO and OSC on the Wikileaks Defendants via e-mail, per the Court's prior order, to the personal e-mail address for a listed officer of Wikileaks."

    If I ever get one of these, I'll just delete it and let them prove they delivered it.

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    It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.