fbpx
Connect with us
Apply Now

Executive Voice

Can You Violate Your Restraining Order Through Social Media?

Social media has become an important part of everyone’s life, from sharing your deepest thoughts to posting your vacation pictures. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become integral in staying connected with friends, family, and other loved ones. However, if you have a restraining order in New Jersey against you, it is better to think twice about using social media. 

It is not illegal to use social media with a restraining order. However, the activities you do there can pose legal problems for you. Hire an attorney today to understand how social media can negatively impact your case. 

Does a restraining order include social media contact?

If the protected person has issued a no-contact order against you, you are legally prohibited from making physical, verbal, or virtual contact with them. Virtual contact includes hitting them up on social media. Restriction on social media is not only limited to sending texts or making calls. If you are under a restraining order, you are not allowed to like their posts, comment on them, “poke” them on Facebook, tag their accounts, or send them a friend request. 

A no-contact order in New Jersey means you must not make them feel aware of your existence in any way, no matter if it poses harm to them or not. There are many real-life examples of people being arrested and jailed for liking and poking the protected person on social media. 

More real-life cases of restraining order violations through social media

  • In 2009, a woman in Tennessee was arrested for “poking” another woman on Facebook who had issued the protective order. The court said that a digital poke is a means of communication. 
  • A woman in Beverly was arrested for using her Pinterest account to keep an eye on her daughter, who had filed an order against her. The girl had made the complaint when she received a notification on her Pinterest account. 
  • In 2016, a woman who was ordered not to contact her sister-in-law was arrested because she tagged the latter in a Facebook post. 
  • In 2015, a man who was prohibited from contacting his ex-girlfriend violated the order by trying to follow her on Instagram. It later led to criminal charges. 

Contact an attorney

If you have a restraining order against you and you are thinking of reaching out to the person through social media, it is a terrible idea. Instead, contact a reputed law firm and hire an attorney. An expert will know what to do and protect you from making costly mistakes.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading


Copyright © 2022 Disrupt ™ Magazine is a Minority Owned Privately Held Company - Disrupt ™ was founder by Puerto Rican serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Delgado who is on a mission to transform Latin America using the power of education and entrepreneurship.

Disrupt ™ Magazine
151 Calle San Francisco
Suite 200
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00901

Opinions expressed by Disrupt Contributors are their own. Disrupt Magazine invites voices from many diverse walks of life to share their perspectives on our contributor platform. We are big believers in freedom of speech and while we do enforce our community guidelines, we do not actively censor stories on our platform because we want to give our contributors the freedom to express their opinions. Articles are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by our community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Disrupt or its employees.
We are committed to fighting the spread of misinformation online so if you feel an article on our platform goes against our community guidelines or contains false information, we do encourage you to report it. We need your help to fight the spread of misinformation. For more information please visit our Contributor Guidelines available here.


Disrupt ™ is the voice of latino entrepreneurs around the world. We are part of a movement to increase diversity in the technology industry and we are focused on using entrepreneurship to grow new economies in underserved communities both here in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. We enable millennials to become what they want to become in life by learning new skills and leveraging the power of the digital economy. We are living proof that all you need to succeed in this new economy is a landing page and a dream. Disrupt tells the stories of the world top entrepreneurs, developers, creators, and digital marketers and help empower them to teach others the skills they used to grow their careers, chase their passions and create financial freedom for themselves, their families, and their lives, all while living out their true purpose. We recognize the fact that most young people are opting to skip college in exchange for entrepreneurship and real-life experience. Disrupt Magazine was designed to give the world a taste of that.