NORMAN — 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 the entire world to see. I recall two University of Illinois students learning 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, where many 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 was not the first time that college law enforcement 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.”
The Internet abounds with information regarding how to protect your social networking information. For example, most of the perpetrators listed above could have gotten away with their deeds had they limited their online information to “friends only,” instead of splashing everything on the Internet for the entire world to see.
Then again, people who engage in public urination may not be the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree, to begin with.
Dave Moore has been repairing computers in Norman since 1984, when he borrowed $1,200 to buy a Commodore 64 system. He can be reached at 919-9901 or at www.davemoorecomputers.com.
