Law Enforcement Using Social Networking Sites to Track Criminals

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- For friends, family or networking there's countless reasons why millions mingle on social networking sites. Now countless law enforcement agencies are using the popular sites to track criminals every move.

For Cynthia Wolf, an art gallery owner in Oklahoma City, it's all about business. She has three Facebook pages. One for herself. Two for her shops.

"I'm all about relationships," Wolf said. "I think that everything is about relating to people."

Cynthia certainly knows the benefits of a these Web sites, and so do law enforcement. That's why more and more agencies are turning to the Internet to solve crimes, and they're doing it in a very sneaky way -- by pretending to be someone they're not.

"I think that makes me really uncomfortable that I'm communicating with someone, but they end up not being real," Wolf said.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a California-based civil liberties group, released documents proving federal agencies, like the Department of Justice and FBI, are creating fake identities online and friend requesting criminal suspects and their allies.

Read the Department of Justice documents regarding social networking sites

By doing so, investigators are able sift through status updates, personal photos, even communicate directly with the person they want. It's a high-tech way of tracking down suspected lawbreakers, and it's something Oklahoma City police have been doing for some time.

"There's no violation of the law, and we're doing everything we can to get these individuals off the street," said Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Gary Knight.

Become a "fan" of Oklahoma City Police on Facebook

Although legal, many sites like Facebook and Twitter prohibit the creation of phony profiles, but investigators still do it. The Electronic Frontier Foundation also argues it's unethical.

There is one agency, the IRS, that prohibits agents from creating fake profiles, but they are encouraged to use sites like MySpace and Google Street View to investigate taxpayers.

Read the IRS documents regarding social networking sites

In its documents released, the Department of Justice noted Facebook was often cooperative with emergency requests for its cases, while complaining about Twitter's data retention policies.