Social networking surveillance attracts lawsuit
December 2, 2009The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a lawsuit against several government agencies after their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were met with refusal.
The EFF asked for information on government agencies policies for using social networking sites for investigations, data-collection, and surveillance.
“Recent news reports have publicized the government’s use of social networking data as evidence in various investigations, and Congress is currently considering several pieces of legislation that may increase protections for consumers who use social-networking websites and other online tools.”
Over a dozen requests were made by the Samuelson Clinic on behalf of the EFF.
“Millions of people use social networking sites like Facebook every day, disclosing lots of information about their private lives,” said James Tucker, a student working with EFF through the Samuelson Clinic. “As Congress debates new privacy laws covering sites like Facebook, lawmakers and voters alike need to know how the government is already using this data and what is at stake.”
“Internet users deserve to know what information is collected, under what circumstances, and who has access to it,” said Shane Witnov, a law student also working on the case. “These agencies need to abide by the law and release their records on social networking surveillance.”
Although this is based on American privacy laws and information requests, New Zealanders would still be interested to know what information is available for possible employers to gather, and what policies exist in NZ concerning this type of information gathering.
