Friday, August 26, 2011

Judge on Jane Cunningham's Facebook Bill: The breadth of the prohibition is staggering

Citing a "chilling effect" and "immediate and irreparable harm" on teachers, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem granted a temporary injunction today preventing the implementation of the Facebook prohibitions of Jane Cunningham's SB 54.

"Even if a complete ban on certain forms of communication between certain individuals could be construed as content neutral and only a reasonable restriction on 'time, place and manner,' the breadth of the prohibition is staggering," Judge Beetem writes.

Beetem said the evidence offered at Thursday's hearing indicated "social networking is extensively used by educators. If is often the primary, if not sole manner, of communications between the plaintiffs and their former students."

The problem of teachers who have family members who are students was also addressed by Judge Beetem. "It clearly prohibits communication between family members and their teacher parents using these types of sites. The Court finds that the statute would have a chilling effect on speech."

That chilling effect and the "immediate and irreparable harm" were sufficient reasons for the injunction, Beetem wrote.

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