London: British lawyers have reportedly declared that `tweets` or messages on the social media can be used as evidence in court trials after an American teenager`s manslaughter charge was upgraded to murder based on one of his tweets.
Cody Hall,18, was accused of knocking over and killing cyclist Diana Hersevoort, 58, in California, however, one of his tweets where he boasted of speeding and including messages like `come on a death ride with me`, were used against him and his charges were upgraded.
UK defence barrister Mark McDonald said that it is immature to think what people post on social media will not be used against them and social media is used as a tool by the Crown Prosecution Service or the police, the Metro reports.
He explained that the police may ask someone alleging rape to send a message to the accused asking why they did it, that individual`s response then can be used in evidence.
A criminal and human rights lawyer John Cooper QC, said that social media is also used to investigate witnesses and explained that defence lawyers will read what statements witnesses make on Facebook to see if they are inconsistent with their police statements.
Twitter`s terms of service warns users that they should only provide content that they are comfortable sharing with others and what they say on Twitter may be viewed all around the world instantly.
ANI
