Facebook’s alleged revenue for 2009 might come as a colossal relief to those managing the company’s public relations- not least of all because the online giant’s reputation has remained largely unharmed by a spate of murders linked intimately to the Facebook brand name.
The latest series of legal proceedings to rely on evidence sourced from Facebook accounts concluded June 22 in Southwark crown court in London, reports The Guardian.
A 16 year-old boy was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years behind bars for fatally stabbing former best friend, Salum Kombo.
The deceased was claimed to have challenged his friend’s credibility online by calling him a “p!$@y.”
A series of text tirades on Facebook then led to a physical encounter in a nearby suburb where the teen was reportedly able to redeem his “loss of face” by stabbing Kombo in the chest.
Facebook did not comment on the verdict, which is not surprising given that so long as the company has cooperated with authorities in the past, little scrutiny has been thrown its way.
What remains fascinating about a situation in which Facebook avoids criticism, is that society appears to interpret these murder cases in a similar way that it accepts social media as ‘an institution’ rather than as the extremely lucrative business model that it is.
SOURCE: newsone.com
