Man arrested for 'automated' Google invitation

A US man claims he was wrongfully arrested after his Google+ account sent an "automated" invitation to a former flame he was banned from contacting under a restraining order.

Tom Gagnon, 32, of Massachusetts, was apprehended on Wednesday after a judge found the communication broke the strict no-contact terms of an AVO taken out by his ex-fiancée, New York Daily News reports.

But the 32-year-old said he never sent the message and that the Google+ social network site sent it without his knowledge.

Defence attorney Neil Hourihan said that the network operates differently from Facebook.

Instead of personally selecting friends to add, it sends requests to "anyone you've ever contacted", he argued.

Salem District Court judge Robert Brennan admitted he did not know how the notification system worked but ordered Gagnon be held on $500 bail, pending further investigation.

Gagnon appeared in court on December 20 last year on withheld charges against the woman.

It is unclear what happened between the pair but it is believed she had broken off their engagement that month, one day after Gagnon had proposed.

Google has not responded to requests for comment.

Source: New York Daily News
Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Matthew Henry