Teenager Convicted For Sending Facebook Friend Request

There are a few people you probably shouldn't friend on Facebook, like your boss, total strangers or — as one Swedish teen recently learned — someone who has filed a restraining order against you. According to Sweden’s The Local, an 18-year-old male recently went before a Gotland District Court judge and was convicted for sending a Facebook friend request. The court, located on the Baltic island of Gotland, ruled that the teen’s friend request violated the restraining order the other party had previously filed against him, Sveriges Radio reports. The teen was handed a suspended sentence for his violation and fined 30 days’ pay. However, the Facebook friend request may not have been the only factor that led the judge to convict and fine the teen. Aside from attempting to make contact through Facebook, the 18-year-old also allegedly bumped into the person at a street market. Local reports don’t note whether the run-in was coincidental or deliberate. While Sweden’s laws are markedly different from those in the U.S. that have led to arrests over Facebook activity, friend requests on the social media site have been a component in past cases. In 2010, a Florida man was jailed for sending a friend request to his estranged wife, thereby violating a domestic order against him.

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