Like many of us, the FBI and four other federal law enforcement agencies have embraced social networking. The difference is that the Feds are "friending" people under fake names and profiles in order to collect information, without a warrant, about possible crimes — meaning a Facebook status update or MySpace photo shared with friends could potentially land you in jail. Are we careening toward the end of privacy? (Watch a CNN report about online cyber squads on social networking sites)
The Feds need to respect boundaries: No doubt Facebook and MySpace "can be very handy when investigating a crime," says Zeljka Zorz at Help Net Security News, but letting online G-men snoop around undercover without a warrant or any oversight is a recipe for abuse. We need to set up and enforce rules for federal undercover Facebooking.
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