The popularity of social networking sites is sky-high and growing, and so is their usefulness, as proven by an Australian court’s decision. A Canberra judge allowed lawyers from a Canberra-based firm to serve legal documents to an Australian couple, after they failed to contact them in person.

The couple defaulted on a loan of approximately $104,000 from mortgage provider MKM Capital, and failed to respond to email notifications from the law firm. Furthermore, they failed to show up in court earlier in October.

According to lawyer Mark McCormack, after being unable to reach the defendants personally, they thought about contacting them on Facebook to announce them they have lost their home.

The question on everyone’s mind right now is whether approving such a method doesn’t break privacy laws on Facebook and other similar websites.

As Electronics Group Australia’s chairman of technology Colin Jacobs said in an interview with the Associated Press, when people set up an account on Facebook, they don’t expect it to become another way for government agencies to contact them.

The method of delivering court documents via Facebook remains controversial, and for now, it remains an isolated incident. However, this doesn’t guarantee users it won’t become a worldwide practice, since not even Facebook seemed to mind.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt told AP how pleased they were to see the Australian court validate the request, saying this is in fact an indication of how important Facebook has become in people’s lives.