Facebook Monitors Your Chats for Criminal Activity

Facebook and other social platforms are watching users’ chats for criminal activity and notifying police if any suspicious behavior is detected, according to a report.

The screening process begins with scanning software that monitors chats for words or phrases that signal something might be amiss, such as an exchange of personal information or vulgar language.

The software pays more attention to chats between users who don’t already have a well-established connection on the site and whose profile data indicate something may be wrong, such as a wide age gap. The scanning program is also “smart” — it’s taught to keep an eye out for certain phrases found in the previously obtained chat records from criminals including sexual predators.

If the scanning software flags a suspicious chat exchange, it notifies Facebook security employees, who can then determine if police should be notified.

Keeping most of the scanned chats out of the eyes of Facebook employees may help Facebook deflect criticism from privacy advocates, but whether the scanned chats are deleted or stored permanently is yet unknown.

The new details about Facebook’s monitoring system came from an interview which the company’s Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan gave to Reuters. At least one alleged child predator has been brought to trial directly as a result of Facebook’s chat scanning, according to Reuters’ report.

When asked for a comment, Facebook only repeated the remarks given by Sullivan to Reuters: “We’ve never wanted to set up an environment where we have employees looking at private communications, so it’s really important that we use technology that has a very low false-positive rate.”

SEE ALSO: State Law Requires Sex Offenders to List Status on Facebook

Facebook works with law enforcement “where appropriate and to the extent required by law to ensure the safety of the people who use Facebook,” according to a page on its site.

“We may disclose information pursuant to subpoenas, court orders, or other requests (including criminal and civil matters) if we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law. This may include respecting requests from jurisdictions outside of the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law under the local laws in that jurisdiction, apply to users from that jurisdiction, and are consistent with generally accepted international standards.

“We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to protect ourselves and you from people violating our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts or other government entities.”

Indeed, Facebook has cooperated with police investigations in the past. In April, it complied with a police subpoena from the Boston Police Department by sending printouts of wall posts, photos and login/IP data of a murder suspect.

Is Facebook doing a public service by monitoring chats for criminal behavior? Share your thoughts in the comments.

How to Find Out When Your Facebook ‘Likes’ Go on Sale

Some 5.6 million products have been “Liked” across the web, according TheFind. On Tuesday, the search-based shopping site introduced a system that automatically notifies users when items they Like go on sale.

To start receiving notification emails, simply install the TheFind’s Glimpse app on Facebook. You’ll receive an alert when an item first goes on sale and when it is further discounted.

The system is undoubtedly useful and easy to install, but it has one unfortunate drawback: If you Like a product on say, Nordstrom, and it goes on sale over at Net-a-Porter, you won’t receive a notification. CEO Siva Kumar says that capability will come later; for now, “our first focus is on providing benefit to the 11,000 retailers we partner with by delivering incentives such as free shipping and coupons to the people who Like that retailer’s products,” he says.

TheFind’s sales alert feature is similar to one London-based startup Lyst introduced for Pinterest in May. If you connect your Pinterest account at Lyst.com, you’ll receive an email every time a product you’ve pinned goes on sale or is further discounted. What’s more, if an item you’ve pinned goes on sale at a different retailer’s website first, you’ll still get notified.

Twitter ordered to hand over Occupy tweets

A US court has ordered Twitter to release old messages and details about a user arrested during an Occupy Wall Street protest in New York.

The micro-blogging firm contested the subpoena, saying the tweets were owned by users rather than the company.

But a judge said defendant Malcolm Harris' privacy would not be violated if the material was handed over.

Earlier, the American Civil Liberties Union commended Twitter for defending free speech rights.

"If you post a tweet, just like if you scream it out the window, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy," Judge Matthew Sciarrino wrote in his decision.

Nevertheless, the judge said he would personally review the information and would only release the relevant sections to prosecution and defence lawyers.

Ownership dispute

The case centres around Mr Harris, managing editor of the New Inquiry website, a cultural magazine site.

He was arrested on 1 October - along with hundreds of other campaigners - during a march across New York's Brooklyn Bridge.

Prosecutors claim tweets by Mr Harris would reveal that he was "well-aware of police instructions" ordering protesters not to block traffic.

Mr Harris, and others, say they thought police had given them permission to march on the road.

Prosecutors have asked to see tweets posted by Mr Harris between 15 September and 31 December.

Mr Harris's lawyer had tried to block access to the postings, but the judge ruled that once the messages had been sent they became the property of Twitter. That would mean the defendant was not protected against unlawful search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the US constitution.

But Twitter challenged the subpoena, arguing that the judge had misunderstood how the service worked.

Twitter's lawyer, Ben Lee, said during earlier hearings: "Twitter's terms of service make absolutely clear that its users 'own' their own content. Our filing with the court reaffirms our steadfast commitment to defending those rights for our users."

The firm also said the Stored Communications Act gave its members the right to challenge requests for information on their user history, and that the micro-blogging firm did not want to take on legal battles that its users could pursue independently.

"We look forward to Twitter's complying and to moving forward with the trial," the district attorney's office said after the judge's ruling.

But Twitter expressed disappointment, saying: "We continue to have a steadfast commitment to our users and their rights."

Mr Harris' case has been set to go to trial in December.