Julia Davis

On December 23, 2014, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California denied Facebook's bid to dismiss a class action lawsuit, accusing the company of violating user privacy by scanning the content of private messages for advertising purposes. Facebook alleges that the scanning of private messages is covered by an exception under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act for interceptions by service providers, occurring in the ordinary course of business. Judge Hamilton said that Facebook had "not offered a sufficient explanation of how the challenged practice falls within the ordinary course of its business." Judge ruled that “Facebook’s unwillingness to offer any details regarding its targeted advertising practice prevents the court from being able to determine whether the specific practice challenged in this case should be considered ‘ordinary.’” Continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/article/judge-refuses-to-dismiss-lawsuit-against-fa...

Whether you’re a young, proactive blogger, a prolific Facebook poster, an occasional Twitter user or a compulsive promulgator of cat photos, someone you don’t know is watching you. Social media activities are being meticulously recorded, scanned and organized to determine your “threat level” that is then transmitted to various law enforcement agencies. For example, your local police department is likely using numerous tools and applications that might determine how you get treated during a routine traffic stop, or in response to your neighbor’s call about loud music. One such application, Beware, has been sold to police departments since 2012. It can be accessed on any Internet-enabled device, including tablets, smartphones, laptop and desktop computers, while responders are en route to, or at the location of a call. This app explores billions of records in social media postings, commercial and public databases for law enforcement needs, churning out “risk profiles” in real time. ‘B...

On November 17, 2014, Heather Elizabeth Coffman, 29 of Henrico County, Virginia, made her first appearance in U.S. District Court in Richmond. She is charged with making a false statement regarding an offense involving international or domestic terrorism. According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent,  Coffman promoted ISIS on several Facebook accounts she maintained under various aliases. Court documents also accuse her of offering to help an undercover FBI agent connect with the terrorist group in Syria. When she was questioned by the authorities, Coffman lied, denying that she engaged in these activities. Mark Henry Schmidt, Coffman’s defense attorney, said that his client was born and raised in the United States, lived with her parents and cared for her 7-year-old child. He seemed to blame the case on “Facebook going badly.” The FBI’s investigation of Coffman commenced when agents took note of her Facebook postings and sought search warrants to access her various account...

During an instant message chat with a friend, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg infamously boasted about obtaining all kinds of information because “ people just submitted it ”. “ They trust me — dumb f***s ,” wrote Zuckerberg. Years later, this “in your face” approach continues to escalate. Facebook isn’t merely content to obtain the information people are willing to divulge of their own accord. Like a budding monstrosity from “The Little Shop of Horrors”, information-thirsty Venus Facetrap cajoles customers into providing more data than any social network in history ever aimed to acquire. Click on the link to continue reading:  http://www.examiner.com/homeland-security-in-los-angeles/facebook-for-dummies#ixzz1aUsorl9h