Aussies Defend Right To Trash Boss On Facebook

Sure, we preen about their commitment to freedom, but who’s out there standing up for our God-given right to curse the boss on internet social networks? Australian prison guards, that’s who.

These heroes, known as the Facebook Five, made offensive comments about the prison boss for NSW in a closed Facebook group, according to the AP. It’s not clear how prison authorities came across the postings, but Facebook groups, even closed ones, can easily have hundreds of members. The workers, three men and two women, face possible dismissal over the messages for “unauthorised public comment” and “comment to the media without permission”.

The employees argue their conduct was outside the workplace—i.e. on Facebook—and “intended” to be private. That standard would allow you to complain about your boss virtually anywhere on Facebook, save for his personal profile page. That sort of raw commentary might be hard for a supervisor to read, but that’s the kind of unfiltered stuff she signed up for when she “friended” you, right?

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