Daily News
By Jenna O’Donnell
These digital agreements determine what images and information couples may share about each other on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat, with penalties for violations like sharing an embarrassing story or an ugly bathing suit photo. Punishments can range from a $50,000 fine to being forced to scrub the toilet.
We want digital prenup!
An embarrassing Facebook post can wreck a romance, so some couples are going to extremes to adjust their relationship sharing settings, with “social media prenuptial agreements” being drawn up by lawyers around New York and beyond.
“Social media is here to stay,” Los Angeles-based marriage therapist and author Dr. Sheri Meyers told The Daily News, “and we need to set some boundaries around it without hard feelings.”
These digital agreements determine what images and information couples may share about each other on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat, with penalties for violations like sharing an embarrassing story or an ugly bathing suit photo.
“The real damage today is that the content remains out there forever,” New York-based attorney Ann-Margaret Carrozza told The News. “You can’t get rid of it, so the consequences are tremendous for harm to the other party.”
Chris Ingle, Chairman of Rose Law Group Cyber Law Department adds:
“Ordinarily I am in favor of putting agreements in writing so everyone knows exactly what the deal is, but I just cannot get behind this one. In my opinion these kinds of contracts will lead to all kinds of unnecessary litigation. Let’s say a person posts a photo that is arguably unflattering – in a regular relationship that might lead to a serious talk about whether the post was appropriate, what to do about it, and how to handle such decisions in the future. But with these prenups, someone could take this dispute and turn it into an all-out litigation war, complete with an award of attorneys’ fees and costs to the prevailing party (in Arizona, disputes arising out of contract are eligible for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs under ARS 12-341 and 12-341.01). The dispute would also become a permanent public record, which has the potential to do more damage than the post itself. It also seems like these kinds of prenups would lead to a lot of disputes over what is and is not prohibited by the contract.
Sometimes less is more, and this is one of those times. People should use a healthy dose of common sense when posting things on the internet. And if a dispute with a significant other does arise, I would encourage people to try to work it out amongst themselves.”
To further discuss cyber law issues, Chris Ingle can be reached at cingle@roselawgroup.com
