Transparent Social Network Searching
Training December 3rd. 2008, 5:16pmTamara Thompson, on one of my favorite blogs, PI Buzz, advises investigators to keep their searching on social sites ethical. Like Tamara, I do much “passive information gathering on the Internet.” And like her, I do not attempt to “friend” someone whose MySpace or Facebook or other social page I find. I just find the page and if there is a real need for the information contained, then do your discovery correctly. As Tamara says, “Like with any other investigative action keep in mind: Is this legal and ethical? How would it be perceived by a jury?” Social networking information is being accepted in court now, but you want to be sure that you yourself haven’t violated any rules finding this information.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Thanks for the good word. Law Technology News (http://lawtechnews.com/) published a fairly lengthy essay of mine on finding background on people through social networking sites in the December 2008 issue. It’s online and can be viewed for free.