ISIS in Florida

Social Media

Were you aware of a South Florida teenager who became a suicide bomber?

Did you know a man from the Keys who shot a terrorist video?

How about the Gainesville man who shot at police in the name of ISIS?

Had you heard of the Florida woman who filed a lawsuit against Twitter based upon allegations that the death of her husband in the Middle East was allegedly due to Twitter’s policies and ISIS’ recruiting on social media?

Terrorism has landed in Florida.  And it is instructive to see how terrorist groups like ISIS have been clever in their use of social media to frighten, recruit, and spread propaganda.

This article, “ISIS in Florida,” is published in the June 2016 Palm Beach Bar Bulletin and discusses the factual and legal issues of how ISIS uses social media (with special emphasis on the imact here in Florida) and how the government is responding.

Image credit: Herald Sun

Defamation
What is the Proper Venue for an Alleged Defamatory Facebook Post in Florida? (James Lowery III v. Shane McBee)

A Martin County resident alleged posted a defamatory Facebook post which was read by a third party in neighboring Palm Beach County. Where is the proper venue? According to James Cullen Lowery, III v. Shane McBee, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal held that “there was no“injury” to Plaintiff until …

1st Amendment
Florida Statute Criminalizes School Shooting & Bombing Threats – How Does Law Enforcement Locate People Who Post Online Threats? (O.P-G. v. Florida)

Two days after the Parkland School shooting in Broward County, a middle school student twenty miles away in Miami Lakes, Florida decided to post on YouTube the following: “I[’]m going to shoot my school in [F]lorida[.] [I’]m only 13[.] I got bull[ied] and [I’]m getting my revenge with my guns[.] …

Data Breach
Christopher Hopkins Discusses Cybersecurity & Technology for Lawyers At Law Firm Leaders Summit

I was invited to speak today in Tampa about cybersecurity and technology for lawyers at the Law Firm Leaders Summit conference. I presented to both “small firm” and “large firm” tracks at the seminar. We covered: Getting hacked on public wifi Phishing, Spearfishing and other hacks Ransomware U.S. Government’s “NIT” …