Mia Farrow’s Address Tweet: Bad Judgment, Not a Privacy Violation

The often cringeworthy Mia Farrow was caught in a Twitter storm this week when she tweeted the business address of the Walter Palmer, the hunter who killed the well-known lion, Cecil. There was a spate of Twitter criticism charging that Ms. Farrow violated his Mr. Palmer’s privacy by tweeting his address. It was first thought that Ms. Farrow tweeted Mr. Palmer’s home address, but she actually tweeted his business address. In any event, the original tweet was deleted.

If the tweeted address was already public, there is no privacy violation. And a quick check shows that both his business address and home address are part of the public record.

However, that does not excuse Ms. Farrow’s actions. With her more than half a million Twitter followers, she wields a huge megaphone. The tweet of Mr. Palmer’s address is akin to the leader of the town mob inciting them to torch Dr. Frankenstein’s castle. Of course, the location of Frankenstein’s castle is no secret — it’s the spooky, goth mansion on the hill shrouded in fog 24/7/365. But knowing where the good doctor conducts his creepy experiments does not give us the right to torch his lab, without due process.

Ms. Farrow’s justifiable outrage clouded her judgment when inciting the mob. Public shaming, sure. Justice, of course. Vigilantism, no way. That’s not the society we live in.