A New York woman could receive a fine or a year in jail after violating a restraining order by reportedly tagging her sister-in-law as "stupid" in a Facebook post. She received a charge of second-degree criminal contempt after allegedly making a social media comment that her in-law's family is "sad." The protection order prevented Maria Gonzales from contacting her sister-in-law after she argued that the court charge should be thrown out because the restraining order did not mention the Facebook social network.    

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Gonzales created a new Facebook account and made some status updates. The status reportedly includes defamatory comments about her sister-in-law Maribel Calderon, who reported the event to New York authorities.  

A New York judge ruled that Facebook tagging is a way Gonzales could break the law. Justice Susan Capeci of the Westchester County Supreme Court wrote that tagging a person via a social network could be a form of violating the order of protection because it contacts the victim to notify them of the online action, according to RT.

Attorney Kim Frohlinge represented Gonzales and made the argument that her client was not prevented from contacting Calderon through Facebook. However, Capeci pointed out that the protection order prevented Gonzales from contacting Calderon through any means, including electronic ones.  

A protection order's violation is not limited to physically getting close to a person, calling them, or sending text messages. It can also include online communication including social networks.

The New York judge also referred to a 2014 decision made by Court of Appeals. It ruled that Facebook messages are the same as email, according to Tech Times.  

The social network sends a notification as soon as someone is tagged. Facebook explains that tags point to Friends on Facebook and create a link they can follow to see a post in a profile or News Feed.  

In other Facebook news it launched a Europe-wide campaign this week to stop extremist posts on the social network. It followed German politicians noting a rise in racist comments related to the recent increase in refugees.

The United States-based company rolled out its program in Berlin. Facebook promised $1.09 million to support racist and anti-foreigner posts.