CNET News reports that in response to a massive snow ball fight that took place yesterday in Center City Philadelphia, two members of Philadelphia’s city council are requesting that legal action be taken against social media sites, which were reportedly used to organize the event.
More than 150 teenagers rampaged through Macy’s department store at the Market East mall, knocking over displays and causing nearly $700 worth of damage, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Although no one was reportedly hurt, some pedestrians were knocked over including a Center City attorney and a doctor.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the event was organized through text messages and possibly Facebook, but is not clear whether Facebook or any other social networking site was used. CNET News reports that council members Frank DiCicco and James F. Kenney wrote a letter to Mayor Michael Nutter requesting the permission to “pursue the possibility” of a lawsuit.
“While they certainly owe this city an apology and deserve to be punished under the fullest extent of the law, we believe that social media outlets should also bear some of the blame.”
However, CNET News staff writer Caroline McCarthy disagrees. She writes, “On one hand, suing Facebook in this case is like suing the phone company if telephone calls were used to plot a bank robbery. It’s not the responsibility of a social network with 400 million members around the world to monitor conversations between mischievous high schoolers.”