Divorcing couple must surrender social networking passwords

Unlike usual divorce cases wherein spouses depart from property or money, a Connecticut judge Wednesday ordered a divorcing couple to provide him with all their passwords to Facebook, Match.com and eHarmony.com.

New London District Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shluger issued the order after Stephen Gallion found incriminating posts from his wife Courtney about their children and family. According to United Press International, Gary Traystman, Stephen Gallion’s divorce lawyer, said the situation could show her inability to care for their children, which could help his client’s argument for full custody.

Forbes reported that Courtney immediately texted a friend and asked that person to change the passwords and delete some of her messages. That’s when Shluger issued an injunction preventing both Courtney and Stephen from deleting material and required both clients to provide their passwords.

According to The Daily News, Traystman said that Stephen had nothing to hide, but acknowledged it wouldn’t be easy for his client to see his wife communicating with new love interests on eHarmony.com and Match.com.

Interestingly, Judge Schluger’s orders violate Facebook’s privacy regulations in which users promise to “not share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.”