16 yr old arrested at Pink concert: Arena Staff used Twitter Photo Profile to track him down

[kpete]

A 16-year-old boy was arrested at a Pink concert in Australia over the weekend after he tweeted a reference to the singer’s “Timebomb” song.

According to The Age, the teen was attending the U.S. pop star’s concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Sunday when he tried to express his excitement in a way that authorities did not find amusing.

“@Pink I’m ready with my Bomb. Time to blow up #RodLaverArena. Bitch,” he wrote.

In an interview with 10 News, the boy said that that arena staff used the photo on his Twitter profile to track him down out of the crowd of 12,000 people.

“They just came up to me and showed a photo and said ‘is this you?’” he recalled. “I said yeah, because it was my face, and suddenly they just turned me around and grabbed my hands and forced me out the back.”

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/teen-blasted-out-of-rod-laver-after-timebomb-tweet-20130708-2pl4d.html
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/08/tweet-referencing-pinks-song-timebomb-gets-teen-arrested-at-concert/

[tk2kewl]

1. facial recognition software at the arena i guess

chilling

[FSogol]

4. Where does it say facial recognition? They printed out his twitter photo and searched the crowd

for him the old fashioned way. Hardly chilling.

[tk2kewl]

6. really? they happened to find him in a crowd of 12000

it's possible, but it seems more likely they knew where at the areana to look

[FSogol]

8. How much security do you think they have for a crowd of 12000?

I'm guessing 100+ security guards.

[rrneck]

9. Maybe there was designated seating. nt

[Thinkingabout]

2. Making jokes of blowing up things and places is not a good thing. It might be funny at the time but

is looked on as a threat. Just like you should not be stupid when making statements at airports, it is taken serious. The social networks gives many an open book into our lives and what is said on those networks are forever.

[MrSlayer]

3. This is really fucked up.

He's obviously referencing a song. Don't they have anyone that knows pop culture working for them? Fuck Godwin and his stupid law, this is Gestapo shit.

[kpete]

5. EXACTLY

!

[FSogol]

7. What is the actual lyric from the song? If it was truly close to what he tweeted,

I suspect it would be in the article.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. It's nothing to do with the lyrics of the song

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/timebomb.html

A DUer argues that "... Bomb. Time ..." should have been enough for them to realise this was a reference to 'Timebomb', and that therefore it should have been seen as playful. Personally, I think the abrupt "RodLaverArena. Bitch." at the end is enough to make it sound like a threat against Pink.

[FSogol]

14. Maybe, but DUers are saying things like, "He's obviously referencing a song."

Without the lyrics, it is hard to make that case. It does sound like a threat, but after talking to (and ejecting) the kid, it should have been case closed.

[FSogol]

15. He should have tweeted this verse instead:

I wish we all could lighten up
It's only love not a time bomb

[Jenoch]

10. If they know where someone is

who tweets, twitters, or shouts out a threat to blow up a public building, it would be a deriliciton of duty (my phrase) to NOT investigate and check them out.

[savalez]

11. Griswald! You're a Pink fan, you head up security tonight.

The tweet is alarming. They needed to act.

[HooptieWagon]

13. I doubt arena security is familiar with the music of every artist who performs there.

It seems reasonable they would check the tweet out. Perhaps they could have removed him more gently, and taken him to a secure location for questioning. But I can see where the tweet raised a red flag.