Facebook Tells Law Enforcement to Quit Using Phony Accounts
Facebook recently told law enforcement to stop using fake accounts as a ruse to bust people on its service. The social media giant also shut down several law enforcement accounts that violated its policy against phony accounts.
The fake accounts came to light in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Tennessee against the Memphis Police Department. The ACLU uncovered evidence that fake Facebook accounts were created to gather intelligence on activist groups. When Facebook was made aware of the fake accounts, it shut them down and issued a notice to Memphis police to stop creating fake accounts.
In a letter to Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings on September 19, 2018, Facebook requested the department to “cease all activities on Facebook that involve the use of fake accounts or impersonation of others.” Facebook reminded Rallings that its policy forbids users from misrepresenting their identity, misusing Facebook profiles, and impersonating others on its service—and that “Facebook has made clear that law enforcement authorities are subject to these policies.”
Memphis isn’t alone. The Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as police in Georgia, Nebraska, New York, and Ohio, also were found to be using the same tactics. Even prosecutors have endorsed the practice.
At the 2016 Indiana Child Support Conference, a slide presentation told prosecutors that “police and federal law enforcement may create a fake Facebook profile as part of an investigation even though it violates the terms and policies of Facebook” in order to gather evidence in a case.
Facebook has since updated its policy banning fake accounts to be more clear that everyone— including law enforcement—must follow its policies, or their accounts will be deleted.
Whether this will deter law enforcement from creating fake accounts is questionable, considering their blatant disregard for the rules in the past.
Filed under: General Problems
Heck, it’s long been the –legal– policy that police can lie their buns off in interrogations; why shouldn’t they feel like it’s their total right to lie everywhere & anywhere? After all, the ends justify the means, or so the strong “get the criminals any way you can!” folks would insist. Even when “criminals” gets defined in all sorts of creative ways (I’m thinking of all the prosecutions of doctors here, like going after the “top 10% prescribers” –& then the next top 10%, & the next top 10%, & the next top 10%…& so on, until you have zero prescribers left).
Ive known all along even facebook has fake accounts to spy on groups they believe violates policy. In fact I once reported a video post of a woman advocating sexual relationships between children and adults. This group also wanted to be recognized by the LGBTQ community that would have nothing to do with the pedophiles. The video was lengthy and disturbing but facebook came back with the response that they didn’t see any violations of policy. So I responded and said by facebook not finding any violations then that means facebook supports pedophilia. They then understood and removed the post. I once got banned because someone reported my pedicure apparently that was just way too much nudity for someone’s taste and I had to go delete similar photos in my account to get out of jail. What im saying is facebook don’t make the real world rules the police run the show and will trump any policy facebook makes. It’s just a fantasy world. Only the real as joy but users adhere to facebook policies but can and do violate their own policy if it serves their purpose just like big brother but with way less authority.
CORRUPTED THREW AND THRU,,,maryw