If you’re internet savvy enough to be reading this blog post, there’s at least a reasonable chance you’re also one of the 400 million people around the globe who has a Facebook page, the 100 million who use MySpace, or the 35 million on LinkedIn. You might be on Twitter, write a blog, use Google Buzz, share photos on Flickr or Picasa, or participate in one or several or many of the myriad social networking sites and services that have sprung up over the last two decades of the internet age.
And why not? They’re a great way to connect with friends, share pictures, videos, meaningful events and even random musings and thoughts. I personally use Twitter, have a blog, use Facebook, and am trying to figure out Buzz; I know social networking can be a lot of fun.
If you’re an FBI Agent, however, Facebook might be your beat.
According to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the FBI and other federal and state agencies use undercover profiles on Facebook and other social networking websites to conduct covert surveillance on individuals who use these services. This sort of information gathering does not appear to require that the subject be a suspect in an investigation nor are there apparently legal guidelines and protections for the information gleaned. Although this surveillance technique is apparently legal, the documents did not “discuss any mechanisms for accountability or ensuring that government agents use those tools responsibly,” said Marcia Hoffman, a senior attorney with the Civil Liberties Foundation.
So check out the article, visit the EFF’s website to see some of the organization’s other efforts to ensure government transparency, and if you use Google Reader or another RSS feeder, subscribe to Wired Magazine’s “Threat Level” blog, which details threats to internet security and privacy.
And next time someone new wants to be your “friend” on Facebook, maybe you should ask her, “Are you a cop?”