Facebook passwords and other things the PO might ask for
by: Ryan • January 13, 2013 • one comment
A few months ago, I met with someone who was put on probation in Oregon. I won't say which county for a variety of reasons, but part of it is because I have not personally verified what he told me. Not that I have any reason to doubt him. It is not a county in which I normally appear. Otherwise I would follow up, because if true, what he said would have impact on my clients.
He was not convicted of a sex offense. But his probation officer insisted on his facebook password. Not just his facebook name, but his password. I assume this was to allow the PO to read the private messages.
I was quite surprised when I heard this. This seems like an extraordinary intrusion. More precisely, it would allow significant invasions of privacy by the government without the defendant's knowledge.
I was reminded of this when I read this story from the San Francisco Chronicle. Key quote:
- A federal judge on Friday barred California from enforcing a voter-approved law that requires 73,000 registered sex :offenders to disclose their Internet identities to police.
What I was told is even more intrusive, and--again, if true--it's happening in at least one county in Oregon.
