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Omaha Steve

(99,071 posts)
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 05:58 AM Jun 2014

Facebook: NYC prosecutors got data on 381 users

Source: AP-Excite

By JENNIFER PELTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors building a sweeping disabilities-benefit fraud case got a trove of data from the Facebook accounts of more than 380 people, the social media giant said this week as it disclosed a nearly yearlong legal fight over the largest set of search warrants it has ever received.

Facebook ultimately turned over the information but is appealing the court order that required it to do so, saying prosecutors intruded on users' privacy. The Manhattan district attorney's office and a judge have said the search warrants were justified.

The dispute adds to a roster of clashes between authorities and Internet companies over law enforcement efforts to scrutinize people's online lives for potential evidence.

"It's part of a trend toward more aggressive challenges by Internet providers on behalf of their customers," said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor who specializes in issues surrounding computers and crime.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140628/us-facebook-search-warrants-58c2e34e13.html

28 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Facebook: NYC prosecutors got data on 381 users (Original Post) Omaha Steve Jun 2014 OP
Quit putting your life out there for the world to see! Problem solved! Hestia Jun 2014 #1
+1000 DeSwiss Jun 2014 #16
Especially if you are involved in disability fraud! Helen Borg Jun 2014 #17
Yep customerserviceguy Jun 2014 #26
Ain't that the truth - we were at supper and a friend took a pic of his food - my DH Hestia Jul 2014 #28
If you post it on Facebook, it's fair game. Shrike47 Jun 2014 #2
It's not just postings. The warrant was for Private Messages too. thesquanderer Jun 2014 #6
And moral of the story is... customerserviceguy Jun 2014 #27
Damn Right They Should.... cynzke Jun 2014 #3
Nothing to argue about, prosecutors had a warrant groundloop Jun 2014 #4
Private messages, too? enlightenment Jun 2014 #10
Anyone expecting privacy on the notorious one-way street Facebook will be sorely disappointed. freshwest Jun 2014 #5
If someone is using my "property" (i.e., website) to commit a crime, I'd certainly help..... George II Jun 2014 #7
So you think Facebook should be like a Swiss bank account? frazzled Jun 2014 #8
Actually, that's a very good point of hypocrisy. Trillo Jun 2014 #13
It's why Swiss bank accounts are Swiss, not American frazzled Jun 2014 #14
This message was self-deleted by its author Trillo Jun 2014 #18
The wealthiest can't hide finacial information... PosterChild Jun 2014 #19
It seems some secrecy still exists, Trillo Jun 2014 #21
Yes. Of course. They are breaking the law.... PosterChild Jun 2014 #22
The presumption of guilt in this thread is notable. Trillo Jun 2014 #9
Guilty verdicts aren't the subject. Getting information LEGALLY via a warrant is the subject. George II Jun 2014 #11
One example Trillo Jun 2014 #12
More than half of the 134 defendants so far have pleaded guilty. (nt) PosterChild Jun 2014 #23
Now is the time for all good internet service providers to come to the aid of their countrymen. DeSwiss Jun 2014 #15
Can you imagine if they tried this hard to go after big time crooks? /nt Ash_F Jun 2014 #20
Disability fraud is big time crime.. PosterChild Jun 2014 #24
Millions, unless you are talking about several years worth Ash_F Jun 2014 #25
 

Hestia

(3,818 posts)
1. Quit putting your life out there for the world to see! Problem solved!
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 06:12 AM
Jun 2014

My DH & I aren't even link, and do not have the same town listed. I haven't uploaded pics in years since FB owns them once you upload them. Forget that noise.

Helen Borg

(3,963 posts)
17. Especially if you are involved in disability fraud!
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 04:55 AM
Jun 2014

I can imagine some idiots posting their bodynbuilding context pictures while claiming disability...

customerserviceguy

(25,183 posts)
26. Yep
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:16 PM
Jun 2014

My maxim is, don't put anything on the Internet that you wouldn't put on a billboard over your house.

Facebook and Twitter just seem to be new ways for stupid people to display their ignorance.

 

Hestia

(3,818 posts)
28. Ain't that the truth - we were at supper and a friend took a pic of his food - my DH
Wed Jul 2, 2014, 09:47 AM
Jul 2014

asked him if he took Polaroids or Instamatic pics of his food before camera phones - too funny!

My DH and I are not linked and live in two different cities according to FB. I don't post pics of my house or children or family members, or vacations especially since FB owns the photos after you post them. Who wants to hand over those rights? Besides, my life simply isn't that interesting

Shrike47

(6,913 posts)
2. If you post it on Facebook, it's fair game.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 06:56 AM
Jun 2014

When I was an attorney for the state, we routinely looked at Facebook entries about our cases. Why not? And people frequently disclose information they probably don't want those who are adverse to them to know.

For heaven's sake, keep it to yourself. You don't need to post your whole life.

thesquanderer

(11,954 posts)
6. It's not just postings. The warrant was for Private Messages too.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 09:03 AM
Jun 2014

At least according to the linked article.

customerserviceguy

(25,183 posts)
27. And moral of the story is...
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 11:18 PM
Jun 2014

There's no such thing as a private message on the Internet. Whisper something to someone in a city park if you want no eavesdropping. And cover your mouth to thwart the lip readers.

groundloop

(11,488 posts)
4. Nothing to argue about, prosecutors had a warrant
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 08:13 AM
Jun 2014

Plus, IMO, putting something on facebook is no different than bragging about it in a bar (and in that case investigators don't need a warrant to ask your buddies what you said). It's stupid as hell to post something on social media and have any expectation at all of it not being seen by the world.

George II

(67,782 posts)
7. If someone is using my "property" (i.e., website) to commit a crime, I'd certainly help.....
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 09:04 AM
Jun 2014

...to prosecute him.

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
8. So you think Facebook should be like a Swiss bank account?
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 10:19 AM
Jun 2014

Where people go to hide ill-gotten gains or avoid taxes ... and we can't prosecute the criminals because those banks won't give out any information?

Didn't you guys watch Wolf of Wall Street?

Getting valid search warrants to investigate a crime when probable cause is present is fair game. Just because something is "on the Internet" doesn't mean that it is immune from searches. Before, police or the FBI could get a warrant to search your personal papers, phone records, bank accounts, etc. Now we have to add the Internet to the tools investigators have to prosecute criminal activity. New technology is not immune. The internet is not an offshore tax shelter for your shenanigans.

Trillo

(9,154 posts)
13. Actually, that's a very good point of hypocrisy.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 11:11 PM
Jun 2014

Why should the wealthiest be able to hide information from investigators, if nobody else can? And if nobody else can hide information, why should the wealthiest be so allowed via their special offshore accounts?

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
14. It's why Swiss bank accounts are Swiss, not American
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 11:44 PM
Jun 2014

We're talking about an American company, an investigation of American citizens, by American prosecutors.

Why would you want everyone to imitate something we think is bad? Like your Mom said, if all the other kids jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?

Response to frazzled (Reply #14)

PosterChild

(1,307 posts)
19. The wealthiest can't hide finacial information...
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 12:34 PM
Jun 2014

... financial transfers into and out of the united states greater than $10K must be reported upfront to Customs:

There is no limit on the amount of money that can be taken out of or brought into the United States. However, if a person or persons traveling together and filing a joint declaration (CBP Form 6059-B) have $10,000 or more in currency or negotiable monetary instruments, they must fill out a "Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instruments" FinCEN 105 (former CF 4790).

Trillo

(9,154 posts)
21. It seems some secrecy still exists,
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 01:18 PM
Jun 2014

see this, 22,000-238 folks allegedly still have secret names:

Bankers from Credit Suisse, one of the world's largest financial institutions, courted wealthy Americans in airports, at family weddings and on golf courses from Florida to the Bahamas with a simple pitch: We'll help you hide your money. The bankers shielded the funds using code names and shell companies. They even set up private airport branches clients could use to do their banking, as they flew in and out of Switzerland, without leaving a paper trail.
...
Levin said he wants the bank to do more than just pay fines and make promises to do better. "Turn over the names of the people whom you aided and abetted in tax evasion," Levin said. He said the Swiss bank has given U.S. authorities the names of only 238 out of the 22,000 secret account holders.

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/02/26/credit_suisse_swiss_bank_accounts_not_so_secret_anymore

PosterChild

(1,307 posts)
22. Yes. Of course. They are breaking the law....
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 02:04 PM
Jun 2014

... using a phony name to avoid reporting and to hide overseas financial transactions is against the law. Yes, people do break the law.

Trillo

(9,154 posts)
9. The presumption of guilt in this thread is notable.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 12:48 PM
Jun 2014

So, prosecutors got warrants. Whooptie dooh dah, wheee!!!!

Where are the guilty verdicts? If you don't have those, then why are folks characterized as up to something no good just because they have a Facebook account, and a warrant was issued to investigate whether anything "no good" may have happened?

Mentally browbeating folks who are or may be innocent as a routine matter is one of the ways we as a people are psychologically prepped and dominated by corporations to always feel bad about ourselves, and it certainly stands in the way of pursuing happiness. Or was that just another one of those lies told to us?

George II

(67,782 posts)
11. Guilty verdicts aren't the subject. Getting information LEGALLY via a warrant is the subject.
Sat Jun 28, 2014, 10:15 PM
Jun 2014

Your last paragraph? Makes no sense at all.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
15. Now is the time for all good internet service providers to come to the aid of their countrymen.
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 12:01 AM
Jun 2014
- It would seem that the ISP's have finally figured-out that a Big Brother today, means no business tomorrow.

K&R

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''We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.'' ~Aristotle

Ash_F

(5,861 posts)
25. Millions, unless you are talking about several years worth
Sun Jun 29, 2014, 06:12 PM
Jun 2014

and it is nothing compared to wage theft from employers

Or kickbacks to politicians for votes.

Or the money that just goes 'missing' in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

PS - In all these cases, the taxpayers are robbed too.

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