Access to Private Property on Social Network Platforms Research Paper

Access to Private Property on Social Network Platforms - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that there have been many cases of law enforcers resorting to investigations using social networks like Facebook for the purpose of gathering evidence. Very recently, according to Kashmir Hill, Phil Markoff was under investigation as the killer of an erotic masseuse. The police tried to track cell phone records at about the time of the incident, only to find hundreds of possibilities. That approach turned out to be a dead end. They tried the email account of Phil with Microsoft. Finally, it was on Facebook where the police hoped to get more information. Through a subpoena for Facebook to give the available information about Phil Markoff and the victim, the police were able to get (a) the basic info of the subscriber, and (2) photos, private messages, friends list. But it required more than a subpoena to get the second set of private information. The judge would have to review the subpoena and issue a warrant in order to protect   Ã‚  Face book from the possible fishing activity to find evidence. The appended exhibits disclose what Facebook provides after being ordered by the court to provide documents about a suspect. Unfortunately, none of these got to be utilized because that suspect committed suicide when charges were filed against him. A total of 71 pages were submitted for investigation purposes. At that time, it was not yet necessary for Facebook to demand a warrant from the court in order to provide more than just the basic information of the suspect.... Hana Noor Al-Deen and John Hendricks said (266) that the definition of social media from the court’s point of view has appeared to be â€Å"a public space where individuals have less of an expectation of privacy than they do in their physical homes†. As a matter of fact, the courts have rejected that idea of giving equal value to the privacy of a person at home along with properties at home and communications kept in social media platforms. The reasonable expectation that any person may demand out of social media can only be less than the privacy that one can obtain from a home. There is readily accessible information which can be viewed online because the settings of the account are open to the public. If more data will be needed, any person interested to gather additional information may simply join or pretend to be interested to join as friend or connection, so that he can view the other communications within an account. Even more private information made available t o a few or just the owner of the account cannot be accessed except through a subpoena or a court order. Finally, there are even more sensitive personal details that the law will not allow the webmaster or administrators to provide except through a warrant issued by the court. And the judge will not issue such a warrant without reviewing the grounds for overriding the provisions for the Stored Communications Act (SCA) which protects the privacy of personal information online. However, Glenn A. Fine (80) wrote that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is authorized â€Å"to obtain historical data from communications service provider† once the legal process is formally initiated. The SCA itself prohibits all Electronic