Dominic Lawson: In the Twitter era, privacy is finished - Dominic Lawson, Commentators - The Independent

Dominic Lawson: In the Twitter era, privacy is finished - Dominic Lawson, Commentators - The Independent

As the late Frankie Howerd didn't quite say: Twitter ye not. Or at least, don't use the Twitter networking website to out sundry sportsmen and showbusiness types who have taken out so-called super-injunctions banning all public mention of their extramarital affairs. The person who posted these names on his Twitter account yesterday – whether inaccurately or not – is clearly in contempt of court, and therefore liable to a substantial fine.


If this newspaper had published a piece by a journalist naming those names, then it, rather than the writer, would have borne the brunt of any subsequent costs and proceedings. Not so the executives of Twitter, apparently. It warns anyone joining its online forum that "you may use the Services only in compliance with ... all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules and regulations". ......