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Question 1.

The Horizon Group V. Bonnen case was a libel suit that was filed by the Horizon Realty Group which is a real estate management firm against a former tenant Amanda Bonnen in the Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit attracted massive public interest as it involved issues relating to consumer protection, free speech, limits of libel and the strategic lawsuits against public participation. In making the argument in the case, Horizon Group argued that a tweet by Bonnen was defamatory as it focused on the services that the company provided to its customers. The tweet by Bonnen read, ‘You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks its ok.’ The attorney that represented the Horizon Group in the lawsuit was seeking for compensation that amounted to $50,000 for the alleged libel.

The story about the lawsuit was first reported by the ChicagoNow columnist Marian Wang and it quoted Jeffrey Michael whose family own the company as saying the suit was genuine and the company had taken the right step. He elaborated that the Horizon Group often subscribed to the policy of, ‘sue first, ask question later’ in its attempt to conserve the company reputation. In response to the claims made by the Horizon Group attorneys in court, Bonnen argued that the company had go against the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance that seeks to regulate the rights that tenants and landlords have within the state.

In deciding the case, the court should rely on the impact of the statement made by the tenant’s tweet. The tenant was making an assessment of the service that he had received from the Horizon Group and it would not amount to the claims made in the lawsuit by the plaintiff’s attorney of amounting to a ‘liable per se.’ I would ensure that I dismiss the case on the groups that it would be difficult for the complainant to proof that the tweet my Bonnen was meant for defamatory purposes and not a honest assessment of the services the company offered him.

Question 2.

Facebook collects users’ information depending on the various ways how users use the platform’s services including the photos, videos, music and thoughts that each individual shares on their Facebook platform. The company collects all the information users provide on their timelines including the data involved in interacting with friends on Facebook and the pages and posts that users like on the platform. Apart from the personal data that one shares on the platform, the company also collects information relating to the kind of device that a user is using to access Facebook, the battery levels, the software version user devices are running on and access to the information regarding other devices that are using the same networking when accessing Facebook.

Facebook is able to develop a fingerprint for each of its 2 billion users by being able to analyze the data that is collected form the device one is using. When Facebook establishes a fingerprint for its users, it gives them a great power as they get to learn more about each user and the information is used to create tailored adverts to each user to be able to help businesses convert the users into customers. Facebook uses the collected data to generate revenue by giving businesses to personalize ads and promote tailored information to each user hence the company acts as the middleman between advertisers and consumers.

I have a Facebook account and when managing the privacy of my account, I ensure that all the information I post is only directed to my friends and not for the public viewing. I also ensure that I do not accept friend request from people that I do not personally know as this would expose the data I share to authorized persons. I often ensure that I change the default settings and customize them according to my personal preference all the information I post is only directed to my friends and not for the public viewing. When it comes to the information that I do not share on my timeline, it includes all the personal information on my life including photos, status and locations.