An article recently in the Indianapolis Star covered Federal investigators on social websites like, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and etc. The Feds are able to check alibis by using services like Foursquare and updates from Twitter. The person of interest will update their status location and it differs from the alibi that they gave police. They can also use Facebook photos as evidence against someone who stole items and posted a picture of him/her with it. When an agent takes on a case they are advised to research their suspect and it now includes the social websites mentioned. It is completely acceptable in court to use the evidence found on these sites. Its almost funny that an FBI agent doesn't even have to "friend" you necessarily on Facebook and he or she can gather evidence against you.
Its not a new trend that Feds are going under cover online. I remember a few years earlier I remember chat rooms being all the rage. Shows like 20/2o and Dateline would do shows featuring catching predators from those websites. There was an anonymity to those chat sites and children could be easily fooled. They would believe they were talking to a 10 year old girl about Barbies but really she was talking to a 40 year old man with other things on his mind.
Since I've recently had a laptop stolen from me I would love to get a call from the police saying they saw the criminal with my laptop....on Facebook! If the Feds are able to build their case against criminals and win then its a wonderful idea.
A Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco doesn't agree with me. They believe its a violation on our civil liberties and is now suing the Justice Department.
Whether you believe its a violation on our civil liberties or not its hard not to agree that social sites are huge and both sides of the law are utilizing it!
