Anyone who’s read my columns for any length of time knows how I frown on people scattering their personal information around the Internet for all the world to see. Two University of Illinois students recently learned a lesson the hard way as their Internet profiles, published on social networking website Facebook, were used against them by the really, really long arm of the law.
Barhopping students Adam Gartner and Marc Chiles, walking to their next drinking establishment, made a small detour to a bush in front of a fraternity house, where Chiles decided that the coast was clear enough to urinate in public. When approached by a nearby campus police officer, Chiles ran away, leaving Gartner holding the bag. Gartner then lied to the officer, saying that he didn’t know the last name of the public offender, as they’d only just met.
At that point, Gartner’s cell phone rang. The officer got on the phone and asked the caller if they knew Chiles’ last name. At last, the officer had the complete names of both suspects.
Soon afterwards, the officer conducted a search of Facebook.com, a website that lets college students post public descriptions of themselves and receive messages. He discovered that, not only did both students have Facebook profiles, but also that they listed each other as friends, having been roommates during their freshman year. Gartner was later fined $195 for obstruction of justice, while Chiles was fined $145 for public urination. Gartner was later quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying, “I had no idea that old people were wise to Facebook. I thought they referred to it as a doohickey that kids play with.”
This is not the first time that college law enforcement has used social networking websites such a Facebook, MySpace and Xanga to monitor student behavior or catch lawbreakers. A student at Fisher College in Boston was expelled for threatening remarks made on a Facebook page. Penn State University Police also used Facebook to identify fans that rushed the field after a football game with Ohio State. Fans later discovered that it was not very wise to start and/or post to websites called “I rushed the field after the OSU game (and lived!).” University of Wisconsin students were busted for having Facebook pages depicting illegal activities. One bright student posted a photo of himself that had a stolen sign in the background.
As law lecturer Mark Giangrande states, “No one is going to read you your Miranda rights when you decide to put up incriminating information about yourself on the Web.”
In an interesting turn of events, shortly after the big public urination busts, research conducted by the University of Illinois student newspaper, the Daily Illini, revealed that sixteen campus police officers also had Facebook accounts, with most of them identifying themselves as “UIllinois Staff.” University Chief of Police Kris Fitzpatrick had no comment regarding why his Facebook account disappeared shortly after the inquiry began.