The five-minute video opens with a man cruising along in his car , cracking open a bottle of what appears to be Beck 's beer and taking a swig . `` We all know drinking and driving is against the law . You 're not supposed to do that . But they did n't say anything about driving and then drinking , '' the man says to the camera . `` You just have to be learned enough to understand the symbols of drunkenness . '' The man , Richard Godbehere , posted the clip in February under the title `` Let 's Go Driving , Drinking ! '' to LiveLeak , a video-sharing site where users can vote on and donate to videos they like . Even so , he appeared surprised when police showed up at his house in Kapa ' a , Hawaii , to arrest him on charges of consuming alcohol while operating a vehicle and driving without a license . `` It 's unbelievable , '' Godbehere told CNN . He says the video was meant as a parody . `` There was no beer in that bottle . '' Godbehere is due in court in June , and police in Kaua ' i told CNN the case will come down to whether a judge or jury believes him . `` Our traffic laws are in place for a reason , and Mr. Godbehere 's blatant disregard for those laws is the type of behavior that wo n't be tolerated , '' said Kaua ' i Police Chief Darryl Perry in a statement . Social networks offer platforms for us to share everything on the Internet , from our relationship statuses to our political leanings and photos of our pets and children . But some people are discovering that what they share on Facebook , Twitter and other platforms constitutes evidence that can be used against them in a court of law . Related : When evidence of sex assault goes viral . One expert told CNN that anything posted online is material the government can use as evidence to arrest and charge a person . `` In criminal cases , almost all evidence is discoverable and police can obtain the evidence , '' said Bradley Shear , a Washington-area lawyer specializing in social media law . `` It 's just a matter of what hoops they have to jump through . '' The government can subpoena deleted content from social media companies , as a judge did from Twitter for a case involving an Occupy New York protester in July 2012 . But sometimes , law enforcement does n't have to jump through any hoops to collect potentially incriminating evidence -- they just have to click around online . `` It 's like that old saying , '' said professor Susan Rozelle , who teaches evidence and criminal law at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport , Florida . `` Do n't put anything on your Facebook page you would n't tell your mother , or the local police department . '' Steubenville . The most high-profile recent example of this was in Steubenville , Ohio , where social media played a role in the case of two football players who were found guilty last month of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl . The girl did n't remember much of what happened when Trent Mays , 17 , and Ma'lik Richmond , 16 , sexually assaulted her at a party in August of 2012 . Her family and law enforcement learned of the assault after cell phone pictures and videos , taken by partygoers , popped up on Facebook and other sites . One key piece of evidence was an Instagram photo of the two boys carrying the girl out of a house . Mays , who shared photos of the girl naked and passed out , was also found guilty of disseminating a nude photo of a minor . The case caught fire on both conventional media and social media after a crime blogger and former Steubenville resident , Alexandria Goddard , uncovered some of the photos , videos and messages posted online about the incident and accused the town of giving the boys preferential treatment because they played on the football team . Police denied the claim . Just last month , two teenage girls were arrested and charged with intimidating a witness after police said they made threats against the victim on Twitter . Prosecutors have said they are considering additional charges against witnesses who refused to speak up . A grand jury will meet April 30 to hear evidence . ' ... to whoever 's vehicle i hit i am sorry ' Early on the morning of January 1 of this year , police in Astoria , Oregon , responded to a call about a hit-and-run on a residential street . There they found two cars had been sideswiped by an unknown driver , leaving behind a bumper cover and pieces of a taillight . Later that day , an officer received a private Facebook message alerting her to a Facebook status update recently posted by Astoria resident Jacob Cox-Brown , 18 . It read , `` Drivin drunk ... classsic ; ) but to whoever 's vehicle i hit i am sorry . : P '' Officers went to Cox-Brown 's home and arrested him after finding a damaged vehicle missing pieces that matched those left behind at the crime scene . In an interview with ABC affiliate KATU-TV , the owner of one of the damaged vehicles said what everyone watching the case was probably thinking : `` Why would you post that ? He basically just turned himself in . '' Cox-Brown told KATU that his Facebook status update was `` a big joke '' and that he sideswiped the cars because of icy conditions . He is due in court April 22 . Shear , the social media law expert , said he would never allow a client to post anything like that online . But he argued that Cox-Brown 's post alone would not be enough for a DUI conviction . Prosecutors would need additional evidence , such as a blood-alcohol-level report , he said . `` You want to focus on charging someone with something you can prove in the court of law , '' he said . That may explain why police said Cox-Brown is charged not with driving under the influence but with two counts of `` failing to perform the duties of a driver . '' The Montreal Metro Drinking Marathon . A group of young partiers in Montreal gave authorities plenty of online evidence last month after a binge-drinking journey through the city 's subways . The group participated in what they called the Montreal Metro Drinking Marathon , with plans to drink a beer at every station on the 30-stop Orange line . They made it to 18 stations before losing focus , according to a post about it on Mook-life.com , a blog about youth culture in Montreal . `` I guess alcohol got the best of us and we completely forgot what was going on at one point but in my opinion that makes us all winners ! '' said the March 25 post , which has since been taken down . The group also posted photos , some with blurred faces , of members chugging beers on the trains and urinating at the subway stations -- both violations of city ordinances . News sites republished some of the photos , and authorities took notice . Montreal police are now investigating the incidents and have asked for help in identifying the participants . A lawyer representing some of the partiers involved is negotiating with investigators , Montreal police said . Canada and the United States have similar protections against suspects incriminating themselves while in custody , but voluntary gloating or confessions online are free game for law enforcement , legal experts said . `` What the Fifth Amendment protects against is compulsory confessions , '' Rozelle said . `` No one compelled them to take photos of themselves drinking and peeing . '' `` The problem is that people do n't realize that you ca n't take it back , '' added Shear . `` It 's almost impossible to unpost something . '' When posting a photo is a crime . It 's one thing to be arrested for posting a photo that shows you breaking the law . It 's another to be arrested for posting a photo of someone else 's handiwork . In another case of social media consequences in Montreal , a woman was arrested earlier this month after she posted a photo on Instagram of graffiti she spotted on a city wall that depicted a high-ranking Montreal police officer with a bullet hole in his head . Jennifer Pawluck , 20 , was accused of criminal harassment and intimidation , according to Montreal police . `` I think the person behind the artwork should be in my place ... all I did was take a photo , '' she told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Pawluck has not been formally charged but is scheduled to appear in court on May 24 . A Montreal police spokesperson said there 's more behind her arrest than just the posting of the photo , but declined to offer further details . Legal experts say photos and videos , whether posted publicly online or obtained in a more discreet manner by the police , have to meet the same criteria : They must be authenticated , meaning the prosecutors must prove the images are what they seem and have not been altered or staged . And they ca n't be shown out of context . `` You ca n't just show a snippet that makes it seem worse than it is , '' said Rozelle , the Stetson University law professor . When the accused admit to posting the materials themselves , authentication is n't as much of a question . But in the cases of Godbehere , in Hawaii , and Cox-Brown , in Oregon , the incriminating posts put them in the awkward position of having to disavow their own words , experts say . Either way , Rozelle says , criminals ' trumpeting their crimes is nothing new . `` People have always said foolish things , '' Rozelle said , `` but now they have the ability to say it louder and to more people . ''
Law enforcement can obtain virtually anything posted online and use it against a suspect . A man was arrested for posting a video of himself driving and drinking online . Social sharing played a large part in the highly publicized Steubenville rape case . Defendants may have to deny their own words if they confess to a crime online .