Google+ Inadvertently Gets Man Arrested
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Google+ finally found a way to force people into taking them seriously, by inadvertently having a man arrested.

Thomas Gagnon, a 32 year old from Massachusetts, was taken into custody after his ex-girlfriend received a request to join his circle on Google+. Earlier in the month she had filed a restraining order against him, although the circumstances surrounding the legal action are unclear. What is known is that Gagnon asked for her hand in marriage with a $4,000 engagement ring, and 24 hours later was slapped with the order of protection.

What makes this case interesting is not the restraining order at all, but the fact that Thomas Gagnon insists he never sent the request in the first place. Gagnon’s lawyer has suggested that Google automatically initiated the request based on his contact list.

“That’s entirely plausible,” writes Austin Carr at Fast Company, who describes this as one of the many overly-aggressive tactics that Google is using to try and boost it’s dismal numbers. “This might be an extreme example, but it demonstrates the potential consequences of the lack of transparency with those tactics.”

Admitting that he wasn’t exactly sure how these types of invitations work on the social media site run by Google, Judge Robert Brennan of the Salem District Court set bail for Gagnon at $500 and ordered him to continue to obey the restraining order that was taken out last Monday.

A status hearing for the violation of the restraining order is set for February 6th. (Audrey Mathews – VNN) (Image: Mashable)

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