Recently there has been a video that went viral on YouTube which has been dubbed “Fountain Lady”. It features a girl who is completely immersed in her cell phone texting that she isn’t watching where she is going. She ends up walking up to, then falling into a mall fountain. The video has received millions of hits, and millions of video ads have been shown to these viewers. This means that some channel owners are actually making some money off of this girls misfortune.
I’m not going to take any sides here, but we must still look at the legal ramifications of this. Can posting a video of someone who did not consent to it being posted, be illegal? This is something we need to start figuring out. But with internet law lobbying being in the current state it is, with many legislators who have little internet savy, changing laws is sure to be slow. In my humble opinion, I think this is a good thing, however. I’m not up for the internet suddenly becoming full of laws and rules. The spontaneity of the internet is what draws so many users to YouTube, and all their other favorite websites.