Imagine all your activities on Facebook, from the day you joined the social network down to this day, every single comment, likes, post etc being kept somewhere. And then imagine that the authorities are given access to it when their is a dire need. Well, here’s news: Facebook can do this, and it has done so too in the case of the Craigslist killer.
The Craigslist killer case has been quite a litmus test for the extent social networking sites can help the authorities in case of a criminal investigation. Now, the documents that Facebook sent to the authorities reveal that the social network sent all the details of Markoff’s Facebook account to the authorities to let them proceed with the investigations of the murder-case against him.
The interesting part is that not only did Facebook furnish all the details from Markoff’s account, it also provided all his activities on other’s profiles. This means that if you are a contact of someone who is under investigation, the authorities may get a chance to shift their piercing eyes to your account too.
However, the authorities are discreet in accessing this information which is reflected in the words of the District Attorney Office’s letter to Facebook, ‘Because this is a criminal investigation, we are requesting that neither you, nor your office disclose the fact or the existence of our request, the investigation and/or any compliance or action made with respect thereto.’
So if you ever thought that all your information were safe on Facebook or that you are somehow legally entitled to keep your online social activities private when you are under investigation, think again.
Image courtesy marcopako.
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