Law enforcement agencies use social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube, etc.) to gather evidence, locate people and get information about their family members and friends. Have you checked your privacy settings lately?
Photos, Messages and Status Updates as Evidence
Social networking sites enable police departments to communicate with people. For example, the Worcester and Boston police departments use Twitter to publish alerts about recent arrests and emergencies. Anyone with a computer or a web-enabled device can see these public messages. However, do we know exactly how the police use social networking sites behind the scenes?
Harvard Police Chief Edward Denmark told the Boston Globe that he would have no problem using fake identities to fool internet users into granting him access to their online profiles. Marc Zwillinger, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who represents various social media sites, informed the Boston Globe that requests from investigators seeking information about individuals online has been “steadily increasing.” Police investigators request access to user names, IP addresses, geographical information and private messages.
Once law enforcement agencies locate your online profile, they may also seek access to your photographs, comments, status updates and friends lists. Any incriminating information found on your online profiles can land you in jail. Ask Mary Ellen Hause. Hause, an Ohio teaching aid, was captured in several photographs while standing near three underage cheerleaders. The teenagers were holding bottles that contained alcohol. An Ohio law states that no person “shall knowingly allow any underage person to remain in or on the place while possessing or consuming beer or intoxicating liquor.” According to CNET News, the incriminating photographs of Hause and the teenagers ended up on Facebook. Hause was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a $500.00 fine, community service and three years of probation.
The police may also read into your online activity. So, if you’re a “fan” of illegal things, just keep it to yourself. For example, it would be really unwise (downright foolish) to become a Facebook “fan” of cocaine or heroin. (Yes, these drugs have Facebook fan pages. I checked.) Even if you’re just joking around, you don’t want want a police investigator, prosecutor or friend-turned-enemy to print out your questionable online activities and use it against you.
If you haven’t already done so, please check the privacy settings on all of your social networking profiles. Spread the word!
