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Search Warrants and Social Media in Georgia Criminal Cases

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by Mary Agramonte

Social media has become, for many of us, a central part of our lives. We use Facebook to share and view photos of friends and family, and even to catch up on daily news. We use Snapchat to send live photos or short clips and videos to those in our circle. Instagram exists to view photos of friends and strangers, and even to gain inspiration for food, travel, and lifestyle.

These social networking sites are used and enjoyed by people in all walks of life. Consequently, as the use by the general population increases, so does use for those engaged in drug dealing, gang activity, and other criminal acts. For this reason, social media and apps once thought to be private are becoming the key pieces of evidence as law enforcement is obtaining this information through search warrants. Search warrant allow police to conduct searches of people and their belongings for evidence of a crime and they are now being used to gain entry into your Facebook, Snapchat, and other sites.

Snapchat has recently come out to say that 350 million Snaps are sent every single day. Before these fleeting photos are opened, they exist on Snapchat’s server awaiting for the person on the other end to open it.  Some unopened Snaps, they’ve admitted, have been handed over to law enforcement through search warrants.

Facebook is no different and law enforcement is using the site regularly to investigate crimes. While a law enforcement agency is free to look at your public site, they are even able to obtain a search warrant even for the private aspects of your account. A recent case in the 11th Circuit, United States v. Blake, involved search warrants for email and Facebook accounts.  Law enforcement in Blake sought essentially every piece of data on the person’s Facebook account. The court stated that the search warrants were overly broad and stated they must still be specific and limited in scope. The data was still fair evidence despite this, as the officers relied on the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule, and the State was allowed to use the evidence from their Facebook account against them.

There tends to be a false sense of privacy for those engaged in sending Snaps, Facebooking, or Instagramming. These ‘private’ sites and photos can and do become to subject of search warrants in law enforcement investigations, and the biggest piece of evidence in a case might just end up being something you posted  or sent with the belief it would remain private.

Social Media: How it can impact your case.

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Don’t let it happen to you: THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU POST BEFORE YOU POST IT

More than ever, police officers and investigators are using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to collect evidence and solve crimes. This is because we, as social media users, have become accustomed to publicizing our private lives. Obviously, there are many benefits to socializing online with friends and family. However, it is important to remember that law enforcement could be looking. So, this is a reminder to all of my fellow social media friends out there….

Think about what you post before you post it. I know it feels good to get “likes” and “followers” and I understand wanting to flaunt what you have but your posts can be used against you….

For example, in recent news:

So, in light of the rampant use of social media evidence in criminal investigations, how can you protect yourself?

Obviously, the best way to avoid trouble is to refrain from engaging in criminal activity, in public, and posting about it.

Here are some obvious examples of what NOT to post online:

  • Photos/Videos of
    • Large amounts of cash
    • Drugs/Drug Paraphenalia
    • Underage drinking
    • Guns
    • Gangs flashing known gang signs
    • Fights
    • Mistreatment of animals
  • Statements that could be interpreted as:
    • A threat
    • A confession
    • An illegal offer

But, sometimes, in the moment, it is hard to know whether your post is, in fact, incriminating.  For example, it seems completely harmless to post your whereabouts and who you are. However, by sharing things like your location and your daily activities, you are essentially creating a date and time stamped timeline of your life (no Facebook pun intended). This can become a problem if you put yourself somewhere where a crime is committed or with someone who is suspected of committing a crime.

So, if you are like me and do not want to stop using social media, the next best thing to do is implement the strictest privacy settings. This will allow you to protect your posts from the general public.

Unfortunately, even with the strictest privacy settings, law enforcement officials can gain access to our social media accounts using a variety of techniques. Sometimes, officers create fake profiles and send friend requests to potential suspects who they are investigating. If that fails, they will sometimes request the assistance of the suspect’s social media friends and review their posts that way. And if both of those strategies fail, officers can often obtain criminal search warrants that require social networks to turn over identifying information about us, their account holders (including IP addresses associated with the account). Although officers rarely seek these types of search warrants, it is important to know that they can get them.

So, if you aren’t interested in abstaining from social media completely, please avoid posting anything incriminating and implement the strictest privacy settings. It is for your own protection.

Also, one more thing:

If law enforcement can do online investigation and use it to prosecute us, there is no reason why we can’t use it to defend ourselves too!

If you or someone you love is charged with a crime and there may be exculpatory evidence (evidence to demonstrate your innocence or the circumstances justifying your actions) online, investigate! And, whatever you find, make sure to preserve it by taking a screenshot or printing it out. You never know how it can help you down the road.

For more advice about using social media evidence to fight criminal charges, contact me at 404-581-0999 or via email at Rachel@peachstatelawyer.com