Are you concerned about police intrusion through social media? If not, you may want to reconsider.
For some years now, the police in most communities have been using social media to both monitor suspected criminal activity (or suspected criminals) and identify people they think may have committed a crime through the use of facial recognition software. This is true even though the software has proved problematic and prone to errors.
In addition, some investigators can even get their department’s permission to “friend” suspects under bogus account names, often to fish around for more information. All it takes is one wrong post or a stray comment, and you might find yourself in the center of a criminal investigation.
What can you do about it?
Social media platforms vary tremendously on their privacy settings – but you should take the time to understand what’s possible on all the accounts that you use. Familiarize yourself with these settings and consider limiting them sharply:
- Change all settings from “public” to “private”
- Do not allow friends to “tag” you in posts or post on your timeline without permission
- Disable your location settings on posts and photos
- Do not post photos or comments that even joke about illegal activity, including drug use
- Do not accept friend requests from strangers
- Go through your current contacts and weed out anybody you don’t actually know
Finally, consider carefully whether you want a clear headshot as your photo on your social media pages – particularly if you have brown or black skin. People of color are misidentified by facial recognition software more often than Whites.
If your social media posts – or anything else – have led to trouble with the law, it’s wisest to seek immediate legal guidance.
