Slashdot Mirror
Facebook To DEA: Stop Using Phony Profiles To Nab Criminals
HughPickens.com writes: CNNMoney reports that Facebook has sent a letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration demanding that agents stop impersonating users on the social network. "The DEA's deceptive actions... threaten the integrity of our community," Facebook chief security officer Joe Sullivan wrote to DEA head Michele Leonhart. "Using Facebook to impersonate others abuses that trust and makes people feel less safe and secure when using our service." Facebook's letter comes on the heels of reports that the DEA impersonated a young woman on Facebook to communicate with suspected criminals, and the Department of Justice argued that they had the right to do so. Facebook contends that their terms and Community Standards — which the DEA agent had to acknowledge and agree to when registering for a Facebook account — expressly prohibit the creation and use of fake accounts. "Isn't this the definition of identity theft?" says privacy researcher Runa Sandvik. The DEA has declined to comment and referred all questions to the Justice Department, which has not returned CNNMoney's calls.
The CFAA has an exception for law enforcement operations and criminal investigations.
Paragraph (f):
(f) This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States.
I'm sick of folks saying "entrapment" when a criminal is nabbed by any sort of deception. That isn't what entrapment is. It is when you convince an entity to commit a crime they wouldn't normally commit, such as, telling a Nun if she didn't buy drugs from that guy over there on the street corner, her church probably will burn down due to an "unfortunate accident"
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
Civil asset foreiture as well as eminent domain follow a legal process with appeals routes and so on.
Not true. The cops can pull you over and help themselves to you cash. There is no "legal process" involved whatsoever.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
Many words have a separate legal definition. For example, insanity means something completely different in legal, medical and colloquial contexts. When talking about a legal matter, assume the legal definition is what is meant. And you won't find a legal definition in the Webster or Oxford dictionaries unless it's a word with no alternative meanings.
Technically, entrapment is only valid if the person being snared is knowingly, willingly, and recklessly participating in a criminal act. If it is the case of a mistake, i.e. wrong place wrong time, technically charges cannot be brought against the person. It has been ruled legal for police to use a bait car to catch auto thieves. The bait car simply makes it easy for someone looking to steal a car to go ahead and steal it. If the case had been someone running or fearing for their life and can reasonably prove that their intent was not criminal in nature but to get to safety, an argument for entrapment could be made.