Home
Social networking
Social networking News
Prosecutors Recover $18 Million for Warrants to Access Facebook Accounts

Prosecutors Recover $18 Million for Warrants to Access Facebook Accounts

By Reuters | Updated: 30 October 2014 12:09 IST

New York prosecutors have secured more than $18 million (roughly Rs. 110 crores) in a series of fraud cases using warrants to access hundreds of Facebook accounts, a move the social medial firm says was unconstitutional and is still fighting.

The information obtained from Facebook Inc also helped lead to 130 indictments of civil servants, including police officers and firefighters, for Social Security fraud, according to a court document filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's office in a state appeals court on Wednesday.

More than 90 defendants have pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $18 million in restitution, the brief said.

The prosecutors said the numbers undermine Facebook's claim that the warrants, which applied to 381 users' photos, private messages and other account information, were too broad and violated the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches.

Facebook has drawn support in its challenge to the warrants from other technology and civil liberties groups, including Google Inc, Microsoft Corp, Twitter Inc, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

A five-judge panel will hear the case in December. Facebook complied with the warrants last year after a state judge approved them.

A victory for Facebook would not directly impact the pending fraud cases, but could lead to judges throwing out evidence taken from the site in some cases.

The district attorney in Wednesday's filing said Facebook does not have the legal standing to assert its users' constitutional rights on their behalf.

Prosecutors also urged the court to reject Facebook's claim that all its customers have an expectation of privacy when using the site.

"Some customers treat their accounts as 'digital homes,' and maintain some degree of privacy," the brief said. "Others treat their accounts more as digital billboards, broadcasting material to dozens or even hundreds of others, thus abandoning any claim of privacy."

Attorneys for Facebook declined to comment.

The case is In re search warrants directed to Facebook Inc, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, No. 30207-13.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.