3-27-2010 National:
WASHINGTON (March 26) -- A Justice Department document asks the simple question: Why Go Undercover on Facebook, MySpace, etc.?
Then it goes on to explain: "Communicate with suspects/targets" ... "gain access to non-public info" ... "map social relationships/networks."
The document, part of a Justice Department PowerPoint presentation, demonstrates how some federal and local law enforcement agents are quietly creating fictitious accounts on social networks like Facebook and MySpace to get dirt on suspected criminals. The presentation recently surfaced in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in a San Francisco federal court.
"This is just the way people meet these days -- electronically," James Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told AOL News. "It wouldn't be any different than calling someone on the phone, say, in an undercover capacity. If we can meet them on Facebook by creating a fictitious account, that's great. "
Even so, the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco filed the lawsuit in December against about a half a dozen federal agencies to create a public dialogue on the matter and make sure agencies have guidelines for agents, according to Marcia Hofmann, a senior staff attorney for the foundation. The Justice Department, Homeland Security, Treasury, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are included in the suit.
Some agencies don't readily appear to have guidelines and some have offered to produce them in coming months to satisfy the demands in the lawsuit, according to Hofmann.
"This on one hand is a very clever use of these tools, but it makes you wonder when enterprising agents come up with these ideas, what is appropriate and what is not," she said. "I don't want to speculate as to what they do and they don't do. I do think there should be a public debate whether it's ethically sound or not. There should be some transparency."
Initially, social networks like MySpace, which first surfaced in 2003, and Facebook, which launched in 2004, and Twitter which arrived in 2006, were simply for hip high school and college-aged kids. As social media's popularity soared, law enforcement began to realize that there was more to these networks than idle gossip and photos of cats, dogs, proms and beer parties.
Now, some federal agents privately talk, almost in amazement, about how much information is available on social networks and how careless criminals are. They say some information can be obtained without even going undercover.
In fact, they say some criminals -- and noncriminals as well -- fail to select the right security settings to block non-friends from seeing photos and other personal information on sites like Facebook. And besides, anyone can see a person's friend list without "friending" the person.
"It's not like we have to dig very deep," said one federal agent who has not created fictitious accounts but knows of others who have. "Facebook is the best. They videotape themselves. They have pictures with guns, posing with gang members. There's addresses of homes. We tend to go after what's there."
Another federal agent says he's amazed how freely some criminals post information on social networks.
"I'm surprised by the recklessness of it," the agent said. "I would think they would be smarter. That's why we only catch the stupid ones. "
Still, even before the recent documents surfaced publicly about fictitious accounts, some federal law enforcement agencies readily admitted to being aware of criminals using the social networks.
On Jan. 27, for example, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles issued a press release about the indictment of 20 suspected members of the Riverside Street Gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia. The release noted that the members use "MySpace.com to communicate about gang business, and they use rap music videos and recordings to deliver a message of violence and intimidation."
DEA Agent Sarah Pullen of the Los Angeles office said of the probe, "Any time you have visual evidence that is available, it is extremely helpful in conducting an investigation. It would be the same as a piece of mail or a photo; anything that shows evidence of a crime."
In Washington, federal law enforcement agencies have responded to the issue of agents creating fictitious undercover accounts with carefully worded responses.
"The Department of Justice and our agents follow applicable laws, regulations and internal guidelines for investigations, regardless of whether those investigations occur online or on the street," Laura Sweeney, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said in a statement to AOL News.
"Just as we've done successfully in identifying and prosecuting child predators online, we will continue to use publicly available information individuals post online about their illegal activities, or false statements to law enforcement officials, in our investigations. To do otherwise would be negligence on our part," Sweeney said.
Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman, noted, "Simply said, law enforcement needs to be able to constantly adapt to the changing world around them while maintaining its ability to use all lawful and available tools at its disposal to gather potential leads to solve crimes."
Interestingly, the Internal Revenue Service provided a document in the San Francisco lawsuit that states employee guidelines for the Internet. "You cannot obtain information from websites by registering ... fictitious identities," the document said.
"I think it's interesting the IRS has drawn the line, and the Justice Department has not," the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Hofmann said.
There has been limited public outcry about the prospects of agents creating undercover accounts since the Justice Department document surfaced.
But Hofmann mentioned the La Crosse, Wis., police department, which reportedly created a fake Facebook page using an attractive, blond-haired woman to lure students and find out about underage drinking. The department did not return a call for comment.
The La Crosse Tribune reported in November that Adam Bauer, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse sophomore, had nearly 400 friends on Facebook and added the attractive woman. Shortly after, police had Facebook photos of him drinking, and he was fined $227.
After his court appearance in November, Bauer told the paper, "I just can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie, like they are always watching. When does it end?" ..Source..
March 27, 2010
Your New Facebook Friend May Be a Federal Agent
August 13, 2009
What Parents Don’t Know About How Their Kids Use Facebook, MySpace
8-13-2009 National:
Parents of teenagers know how important texting and social networking sites like MySpace, Bebo, and Facebook are to the over-13 set. But if we think we know what our kids say and do on the sites, we're kidding ourselves. My 13- and 14-year-old nephews kindly remind me more often than I'd like of my cluelessness, and a new survey confirms that I'm not the only parent who has no idea.
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that tracks children's use of media, commissioned a poll of teenagers and their parents this spring. It turns out that teens are way more active online that most parents realize:
* 49 percent of parents said their child was 13 or older before starting to use the Internet
unsupervised. Just 14 percent of teenagers said they were that old.
* 23 percent of parents said their children log onto social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace more than once a day. But 51 percent of teenagers said they check in more than once a day.
* Just 4 percent of parents think their children check social networking sites more than 10 times a day; 22 percent of teenagers said they're online that often or more.
* When it comes to "sexting," or posting explicit photos, 2 percent of parents believe their child had posted naked or near-naked photos or videos of themselves or others. But 13 percent of teens admitted they had done that.
As one of those parents who needs to wake up and smell the latte, I'd better ask my nephews for more in-depth instruction. Sexting is just one worry. The survey, which polled 1,013 kids in the seventh to 12th grades and 1,002 parents, also found that 39 percent of the teenagers had posted something they later regretted and that 28 percent shared personal information online they normally wouldn't have shared publicly. Nothing posted on the Internet is ever truly private, and it's there forever, so it's not hard to imagine college applications being derailed by derogatory comments about teachers (which 54 percent of teens say they had posted) or hacking someone else's social networking account (as 24 percent of the teens said they had done).
Ah, but kids need to wise up, too. Only 14 percent think their parents know their Facebook or MySpace password; in fact, 51 percent of parents said they do. And 82 percent of parents check their child's online profile regularly, while barely one quarter of children think they're being watched. Tip to observing parents: Monitoring children's social networking activities is essential to helping them become safe and wise users of the Web, but hacking into their accounts or using monitoring software isn't the way to do it, according to an article by my colleague Lindsay Lyon on Mastering MySpace Dangers. Instead, explain how even privately posted photos or information can become permanently public, and don't be afraid to set rules on how your children use social networks. One clever idea: Ask the kid to help you build your own Facebook profile.
Social networking is here to stay. I'm greatly enjoying becoming part of communities I've found on Twitter and am even getting used to Facebook, though I use it more for professional networking than for keeping up with friends. And I'm facing up to having to add teaching my little girl to have a healthy life online to my long list of parental responsibilities. ..Source.. by Nancy Shute
August 2, 2009
Facebook, MySpace may cause kids to commit suicide, warns Archbishop
8-2-2009 United Kingdom:
LONDON - Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace may drive kids to commit suicide, warns the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols says that the "transient relationships" such sites are making teenagers to develop leave them unable to cope when their social networks collapse.
According to him, the Internet and mobile phones were "dehumanising" community life.
His views came after a 15-year-old schoolgirl killed herself by taking a fatal overdose of painkillers last week, after being bullied on Bebo, another networking site.
The Archbishop of Westminster also expressed his concern about the loss of loyalty, and the rise of individualism in British society, which he said threatened to undermine communities.
He said that the decline in face-to-face meetings and conversations over the phone was weakening relationships
"I think there's a worry that an excessive use or an almost exclusive use of text and emails means that as a society we're losing some of the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community," the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
"We're losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person's mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point.
"Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises what is a very, very important part of community life and living together," he added.
Nichols further said that social network sites were leaving children with impoverished friendships.
"Facebook and MySpace might contribute towards communities, but I'm wary about it. It's not rounded communication so it won't build a rounded community," he said.
"If we mean by community a genuine growing together and a mutual sharing in an interest that is of some significance then it needs more than Facebook," he added.
Stressing that the sites were contributing to a trend for teenagers to put too much importance on the number of friends they have, he warned that it could eventually lead to suicide.
"Among young people often a key factor in them committing suicide is the trauma of transient relationships. They throw themselves into a friendship or network of friendships, then it collapses and they're desolate," he said.
He continued: "It's an all or nothing syndrome that you have to have in an attempt to shore up an identity; a collection of friends about whom you can talk and even boast. But friendship is not a commodity, friendship is something that is hard work and enduring when it's right." (ANI)
..Source.. by Simple ThoughtsJuly 31, 2009
DOD may ban Twitter, Facebook, other social media
7-31-2009 National:
Security issues prove difficult
The Defense Department is considering banning Twitter, Facebook and other social-networking sites for security reasons.
Wired's Danger Room blog reported that the reason for the latest proposed ban is that the sites may give hackers easy access to military networks.
“The mechanisms for social networking were never designed for security and filtering," said an unnamed source at U.S. Strategic Command in the blog entry. "They make it way too easy for people with bad intentions to push malicious code to unsuspecting users. It’s just a fact of life."
Strategic Command has asked the rest of the military for feedback on a social-media ban, Wired's blog reported.
“The answer is somewhere between” full access and a total bad, said DOD spokesman Bryan Whitman, quoted in a Navy Times article. “We’re working through this challenge of how do we operate in this environment — because these are important communication tools — and at the same time, provide the necessary protection to our systems [and] ensure the necessary operational security and private security concerns that any organization would have.”
The potential ban comes at a time when the DOD has overcome some of its initial reluctance and begun to embrace social media. The Armed Forces Press Services reports that the Army, for just one example, has been using MySpace effectively for recruiting. ..Source.. by Defense Systems
