Chapter 4 - Facilitators and relevant factors

4.1 Social networking - Law enforcement considerations

Social media is a valuable tool for law enforcement to identify, locate and gather intelligence on suspects [153]. Many social media providers proactively share data, particularly in cases of child abuse, and in many instances work closely with law enforcement.

In the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations regarding private companies sharing data with law enforcement and security agencies, industry has increasingly distanced itself from government to win back the trust of their customers. In May 2014, Apple Inc. announced that it would disclose to its customers when they had been the subject of a data request from law enforcement. This poses considerable problems for law enforcement as it may potentially compromise investigations, put victims and witnesses in danger and result in suspects destroying evidence or absconding. It is expected that other major Internet players such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft will follow suit [154] triggering a cascade of similar policies throughout the industry. In the future, interaction with such entities will have to be carefully risk assessed.