Posted By:
Steve DawsonI think JimB hit the nail squarely on the head. To me, the key would seem to be the writer's/speaker's "reasonable expectation of privacy".
When posting a message on the internet, there can be no "reasonable expectation of privacy", since the internet is open to absolutely everyone with access to it. Therefore, anything on the internet is free game.
In Joann's scenario above, I would think that a person who was speaking discreetly with a small group of friends/family, even in a public place, could have a "reasonable expection of privacy"; and could therefore fight anyone who broke that expectation. It would undoubtedly though, be incumbent on the speaker to prove that they were in fact speaking discreetly, and not raising their voice to where bystanders/strangers could freely hear what they were saying.
Steve