It’s official – Facebook ‘friends’ AREN’T real pals in the eyes of the law
In a bizarre turn of In Real Life events, a court has ruled on whether Facebook friendships constitute true relationships
YOU might have 500 chums following you on Facebook - but that doesn't mean you have lots of mates.
In fact, Facebook friends do not constitute an authentic relationship in the eyes of the law.
In a bizarre turn of events, a Miami judge was forced to rule that Facebook friends were not real, according to the .
A legal row began with a lawsuit over unpaid legal bills.
But the judge in was connected to the defendant's lawyer on the social media site, raising concerns that they may be biased.
Typically, friends would be dismissed from the case.
But in this example, the judge ruled - in a ten-page document - that Facebook friends just aren't the same.
The ruling stated that Facebook algorithms and data mining leads people to accept requests from people they barely know.
Miami's District Court of Appeals Judge, Thomas Logue, wrote: "Electronic social media is evolving at an exponential rate.
"Acceptance as a Facebook 'friend' may well once have given the impression of close friendship and affiliation.
"Currently, however, the degree of intimacy among Facebook 'friends' varies greatly."
The legal row began with a lawsuit over unpaid legal bills.
Lawyers requested that a judge excuse herself as they were Facebook friends with a lawyer representing the defendant but she refused, forcing them to launch an appeal.
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The appeals court disagreed that the Facebook relationship was enough to warrant a replacement, pointing out that some Facebook users have hundreds of "friends," some of whom they may not even remember accepting.
"An assumption that all Facebook 'friends' rise to the level of close relationship that warrants disqualification simply does not reflect the current nature of this type of electronic social networking," Logue wrote.
So while you're relishing your social media status every time you see a red notification or new friend request, stop yourself and remember: these people aren't really your friends.
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