Facebook Friend Or Foe?
December 3, 2009
If you have ever watched the show “To Catch A Predator,” you know that law enforcement officials have recently learned to put social networking sites to good use. Yet, the implementation of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others as a resource for law enforcement has sparked an unnerving trend.
Some examples are difficult to scrutinize.
Take the case of Maxi Sopo, a wanted fugitive who escaped to Cancun, Mexico. Things were looking up for Sopo, and his Facebook status reflected the same. On June 21, Sopo’s status read, “LIFE IS VERY SIMPLE REALLY!!!! BUT SOME OF US HUMANS MAKE A MESS OF IT…REMEMBER AM JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN PARTEEEEEEE.”
The trail had gone cold, until a Secret Service Agent spotted Sopo’s Facebook photo, in which he sported a black jacket decorated with a white lion as he stood in front of a party backdrop featuring logos of BMW and Courvoisier. Surprisingly, Sopo had unwisely “friended” a former Justice Department official, and with the click of a button ensured his eventual arrest. [1]
It is this blogger’s opinion that utilizing social networking sites to track wanted fugitives and lure sexual predators represents a positive, creative, tech savvy use of the same. Yet, what began as an innovative tactic seems to have evolved into an alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars, which creates ample opportunity for the ever-popular Orwellian “Big Brother” analogy.
For instance, “AB” was your typical beer drinking 19-year old College student with a Facebook profile at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Upon adding what he described as a “good-looking girl” as his Facebook friend, AB discovered quickly that when mixed these two attributes can get you in trouble with the law.
Not long after his recent “add,” AB was invited to the La Crosse police station, where an officer issued him an underage drinking ticket due to Facebook photos in which AB was pictured drinking beer. AB is among a growing number of students who have been targeted by law enforcement over the internet for underage drinking and similar violations.
There are two sides to every argument, and this one is no exception. UW La Crosse law enforcement officials believe on the one hand that, “Law enforcement has to evolve with technology . . . It has to happen. It is a necessity – not just for underage drinking.” Conversely, another UW La Crosse student who also received such a drinking violation believes that, “I feel like it is shady police work and a waste of taxpayer money to have him (an officer) sit on the computer on Facebook when he could actually be doing police work.” [2]
Clearly there is a social disconnect here that extends far beyond the issue of underage drinking on a college campus. The real dilemma is that many of us living in this ever-shrinking digital world maintain an inherent desire for privacy while sharing an irresistible urge to manage a Facebook profile. It is truly the Catch 22 of the modern age.
Regardless, the unfortunate reality is that Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy probably said it best back in 1999 when he commented, “You have zero privacy anyway, get over it.”
The bottom line today is that posting a picture of yourself breaking the law on a social networking site invites any potential liability associated with committing the unlawful act in the first place. Nevertheless, as the Facebook-obsessed student bodies of this generation become parents, professors and/or law enforcement officials themselves, perhaps social networking sites will help to shape social norms for the future.
That said, whether or not an incriminating Facebook posting could result in a criminal conviction – as was not the case for Olympic Gold-Medalist Michael Phelps after he was spotted ripping a bong in an online photo – It is clear that everyone should try to limit exposure of their private lives on the internet. Remember that those pictures will be out there forever.
Along those lines, here are a few tips:
(1) Don’t post pictures of yourself committing a crime on your Facebook profile (or allow your friends to do the same);
(2) If you are a wanted fugitive, don’t invite Federal Agents to be your Facebook friend; and
(3) Create a social networking alias!
[1] “Fugitive Busted after unwise friend request” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin; October 14, 2009.
[2] http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_0ff40f7a-d4d1-11de-afb3-001cc4c002e0.html
December 4, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I agree that pictures of you being an idiot (whether it’s illegal or not) on social networking sites can come back to bite you in the ass. I always make sure there are no “Bad” pictures of me on Facebook
But how was a kid arrested for holding a beer can? Is it illegal now for underage people to get their pictures taken holding Bud Light cans or Jack Daniels bottles? I guess my point is how do the arresting officers know that kid was drinking. Maybe he was holding it for a friend? My dad used to go to parties at Miami and not drink a drop…he would just hold a drink so he wouldn’t look like a Lame-wad.
How does that asshole sheriff in South Carolina know Michael Phelps was smoking Marijuana? Maybe it was flavored tabacco and Mr. Phelps liked the pretty colors on that bong. Maybe a middle school kid bought the dimebag and it was just some oregano.
Again, I agree pictures of stupid or illegal acts on social networking sites is NOT a good idea. But the cops mentioned were being assholes. If I were the UW-LC student, I would have sued the arresting officers for Harrassment, Defamation of Character and Emotional Damages. Maybe you wouldn’t get a lot of money, but at least the asshole idiots that made the arrest would get fired. Do you really want ticky-tack, nit-picky assholes like that “Serving and Protecting” you?
As for the ex-con…yeah, he was a dumbass!