Due to the many legal and ethical ramifications of their profession, judges must exercise more responsibility than most other professions when using new technology. Social media, which is ubiquitous nowadays, presents a whole host of snares and pitfalls for members of the judiciary.

For instance, if they insert themselves into the minutia of people’s day to day affairs by sharing photos from a beach, “liking” a “Distracted Boyfriend” meme, or commenting on current events, judges open the door to allowing family, friends and even total strangers into their lives through the Internet. Although these mundane social media actions have almost no negative consequences for most people as long as they remain polite and civil, they can have unintended consequences for judges. For instance, based upon what a judge posts, the result can be misrepresentation, misinterpretation, cyberbullying and even threats to privacy and safety.