Your Next Facebook 'Friend' Could be a Federal Agent

Here's yet another reason to be careful of what you share on Facebook -- the Feds could be checking you out. An internal Justice Department document obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation reveals that U.S. law enforcement agents have been logging onto social networking sites in the name of crime fighting. According to the 33-page presentation (PDF), which was obtained by the EFF through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, federal agents can use social networking sites to gather valuable information from and about suspects. The following information is listed as being useful evidence that can be gathered from social networking sites:

* Reveal personal communications
* Establish motives and personal relationships
* Provide location information
* Prove and disprove alibis
* Establish crime or criminal enterprise

The document gives a brief overview of four popular social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and LinkedIn) and how information can be obtained from them. Facebook, for example, is "often cooperative with emergency requests," while Twitter "will not preserve data without legal process," while LinkedIn can be used to "identify experts" even though its "use for criminal communication appears limited."...read more