Monitoring Facebook: How far is too far?
March 30, 2010 by Claire KnightPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Tech News
In spite of warnings, many college students still post questionable comments and photos on Facebook. And it’s getting them in trouble:
Using fake Facebook profiles, local law enforcement officers sent friend requests to several La Crosse students.
And when students accepted the friend requests, La Crosse police gained access to their profiles.
After scoping out students’ walls, police officers handed out underage drinking tickets to eight students whose Facebook photos showed them consuming alcohol.
Underage drinking is a problem at many universities, and this instance is an example of the blurry line between students’ privacy and their safety.
Did these police officers go too far by targeting college students under false pretenses? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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Tags: facebook, social networks, technology, Underage drinking
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March 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Sounds like they are skimming the edge of entrapment to me.
March 31st, 2010 at 3:21 pm
The officers absolutely went too far in this case. While I think anyone’s profile is fair game if they leave it “open” to the public, I think these officers crossed a line by creating fake profiles and getting students to friend them. This tactic might be useful in the investigation of a more serious case, but even then the ethics are questionable. For a case of underage drinking? Unnecessary, unethical and a poor use of the police’s time and resources.
March 31st, 2010 at 3:43 pm
There is definitely no expectation of privacy on a social networking site. Of course the cops can do this – just like anyone else.
A wise man once told me “Don’t put anything on the internet you don’t want to see in the newspaper tomorrow.”
March 31st, 2010 at 4:18 pm
If one is pretending to drink in a photograph, but they don’t swallow or if the liquid in the bottle is soda or water, will that raise their blood alcohol content? In short, I don’t believe a photograph proves alcohol consumption.
As the poster above, surely the police have better things to do with their time and money, and surely they have a better city attorney than this stunt would indicate?
March 31st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Now prove it in court. It will never happen.
March 31st, 2010 at 4:53 pm
The police have always targeted suspects under false pretenses. What strikes me about this case is that they targeted individuals for whom they had no reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. They crossed the line between police and secret police. Strictly speaking, this may be perfectly legal, but it appears to be another victory for law and order at the expense of liberty and freedom. Law enforcement will lose this particular conduit for spying on citizens when Facebook users learn that having “friends” you don’t know is a sign of stupidity rather than status.
March 31st, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Given today’s uncertain climate on campuses, and the more than ample warnings students have been given about social networking websites, it should come as no surprise that law enforcement has resorted to these tactics. Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Perhaps intervention of some sort may save lives; even the lives of those who oppose these strategies.
April 1st, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I don’t know how many students out there fail to grasp a basic concept: posting information on a social networking site is putting your private stuff out in public, especially if you don’t screen who you admit to your site. Most employers will look up an applicant’s social networking site as a matter of routine and often, what they see there helps them make decisions about hiring. If your Facebook ® site has a big picture of you smoking dope (or even pretending to smoke dope), guzzling beer, etc, you probably won’t get that airline job. Or the FBI, or most of the Forbes 500 companies. It shows poor judgement. And remember this, once that particular genie is out of the bottle, it can never be put back. Those pictures will always be out there.
April 1st, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Oh, and Dave says: “Try and prove it in court. It’ll never happen.”
Ask Michael Phelps about that.
April 7th, 2010 at 11:44 am
What strikes me is how dumb our college students are? Do they ever learn anything? How many times to they have to be told that what is on the web is there for everyone to see? Makes you wonder why these idiots are doing in college and how will they ever learn anything to do a job. This American idea that nothing ever happens to ME is so annoying and stupid that it’s tiring. How many examples do these students need BEFORE they get it? The police didn’t target them, they welcomed them into their Facebook pages like they do all the other jerks and THEN THEY POSTED PICTURES OF THEMSELVES DRINKING. Would it be any different if they posted pictures of them doing anything else illegalF No. The idea that police created fake profiles–dud–isn’t everyone on Facebook fake? Isn’t everyone’s profile a bunch of lies and wishful thinking? Why are police any different. We need to stop excusing stupid behavior just because well they’re young and make mistakes. Funny how these young people want to make a lot of money, be in control, and lead–but then don’t want to take responsibility for their poor decisions.
April 7th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I am always amazed when I see people with over 1,000 friends. I thought the concept behind facebook was so that you could keep in communication with people you ACTUALLY know. Accepting friend request from anyone is risky, you are letting people into your life. And if you happen to be a person that is addicted to FB and have to share every moment (including the bad idea ones) you are asking for trouble.
Employers, Insurance companies, and now law enforcement have adapted this tool to fit their purpose. Like someone said; don’t put anything on the site that might come back to haunt you.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I don’t know what it is – perhaps rank exhibitionism – that makes people accept any and all “friends.” Someone earlier said that the case where the police handed out citations to kids with pictures of them drinking would never stick legally, and I agree. How do you prove that’s what was going on? But tell that to Michael Phelps! What happened to his life? They also need to think about later in life. Our aviation students are spending huge amounts of money to become airline pilots and/or air traffic controllers, but when an employer looks at that web page and sees a picture of their applicant half naked and looking like he’s on a three day bender, that application goes to the bottom of the stack. These things will always turn around to bite you. BTW, I personally know of one kid who got a phone call from his mother who had seen his page and told him that if that was all he was going to do in school, he could pay for college himself, and she cut him off.
April 8th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I would think it difficult to get a conviction on the photos alone but now they have pictures to identify the individuals, who can now be observed more closely and caught in the act later. If they have not learned by now the consequences of posts on social networks, they have a problem which needs to be addressed by the campus, the parents and the individuals involved.