Facebook pictures result in student's drinking tickets

Although college kids are often warned of the dangers of social networking sites, UW-La Crosse students have reason to be extra cautious. Last semester a group of students were given underage drinking tickets after La Crosse police officers found photos on Facebook of them with alcohol. They accepted the friend requests of officers, who were using false profiles to gain access to their photos. At least eight people were caught by the department's use of the site.
This technology offers authorities the ability to view the photos, videos, and online communications between individuals. Many assume this is private, even though all networking sites announce their compliance with the law in their privacy policies.
Concerning the suspicion of illegal activity, the Facebook privacy policy says, "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."
This raises concern about how much control Facebook users have over intellectual property content (like photos and videos). Their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities says that they can use "any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook." This license is terminated only after the content is deleted from Facebook by yourself and anyone else who shares the content.
The availability of the photos on the Internet is protected by Facebook's privacy settings, but police officers were still able to access them through their own Facebook profiles, something these students didn't expect to happen.

"I just can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie, like they are always watching. When does it end?" stated Adam Bauer, one of the involved students, to the La Crosse Tribune.

The concern over whether or not the police are watching has caused many students to remove unlawful content from their Facebook profiles. And with Facebook information becoming more public, some users have removed their accounts altogether.