FBI agents, for example, have used Facebook to determine the whereabouts of a fugitive. Other investigators can check alibis by comparing stories a suspect tells police with their tweets sent at the same time .
A civil liberties group, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, obtained the 33-page document after suing the Justice Department. It makes the document public today on its website.
Specifically, the 33-page confidential document says undercover operations are helpful for communicating with suspects and targets of crime, gaining access to private information, and mapping social networks. However, the presentation expresses concern that undercover use may be complicated by the court’s decision in the trial of Lori Drew, who was acquitted of cyber-bullying a girl who later committed suicide, and that violations of terms of service by not using their own name can render access unauthorized.
According to the Associated Press, the document says Facebook is “often cooperative with emergency requests” from federal investigators while Twitter’s lawyers demand a warrant or subpoena before it will turn over customer information.
The Justice Department says such covert investigations are legal and are governed by as-yet undisclosed internal rules, the AP says, quoting from the document.
In one section, Justice discusses its own lawyers, saying social networks are a “valuable source of information on defense witnesses.” Evidence gathered from social networks can be helpful to reveal personal communication, establish motives and relationships, provide location information, prove and disprove alibis, and establish the existence of a crime or criminal enterprise.
The document also details the history and use of social networks worldwide, listing which social networks are popular in which parts of the world and how social networking sites in the United States match up against other heavily visited Web sites.
At the same time, the document warns law enforcement officials themselves to think prudently before adding judges or defense counsel as “friends” on these services.
source : http://tech.bangladeshio.com/fbi-using-phony-profiles-on-social-networks-to-track-criminals-online-540.php