Can tweeting be a crime?
Twitter played a star role in the protests after Iran's disputed presidential election in June.
Now, tweeting has lead to the arrest of two men who authorities say were aiding law-breakers during the protests around Pittsburgh during last month's G-20 summit of world leaders.
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes:
The quick evolution of technology has changed the way Americans do almost everything, including how law enforcement combats crime, and consequently, how criminals elude law enforcement.
Those two concepts converged during the G-20 summit, when state police arrested two New York men for using Twitter to inform protesters in Pittsburgh about the movements of local officers.
They are accused of hindering apprehension, criminal use of communication facility and possessing instruments of crime. The charges raise questions about the use of technology in areas where the First Amendment and potential criminal activity converge.
Essentially, New Yorkers Elliot Madison and Michael Wallschlaeger are accused of monitoring police scanners and then using text messages and Twitter to tell protesters about where police were going. The men say they can't be prosecuted for relaying information that was being broadcast over public airwaves. Prosecutors say they were providing the information to assist in the commission of crimes.
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