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Jul 29, 2015

Facebook Can't Challenge Subpoenas For Info On Those Accused Of Social Security Fraud

     From Reuters:
Facebook Inc cannot challenge search warrants New York prosecutors used to get information from its site on hundreds of users suspected of Social Security fraud, a state appeals court said on Tuesday, in a decision likely making it harder for New Yorkers to keep their digital lives private.
The warrants, which applied to 381 users' photos, private messages and other account information, could only be challenged by individual defendants after prosecutors gathered evidence, the Manhattan-based court unanimously ruled. ... 
The Manhattan District Attorney's office served the warrants on Facebook in 2013, seeking information on dozens of people later indicted for Social Security fraud, including police officers and firefighters who allegedly feigned illness in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks....
The court on Tuesday said the only way to challenge warrants was for defendants in criminal cases to move to suppress the evidence they produced.
Facebook spokesman said the company disagreed with the decision and was considering an appeal. 

A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said prosecutors had secured nearly $25 million from people who were targets in the probe. 
"In many cases, evidence on their Facebook accounts directly contradicted the lies the defendants told to the Social Security Administration," she said. ...

7 comments:

  1. Can they subpoena my facebook account to prove that I AM disabled? Would pics of my feeding tube and wheelchair help?

    That would be so much easier than waiting for the ALJ hearing.

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  2. how would your feeding tube and wheelchair prevent you from working as a telephone customer representative?

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  3. The disability dunk tank blog (now inactive) wrote a thoughtful piece on the problems with using Facebook posts to accuse people with disabilities of fraud.

    http://disabilitydunktank.com/2014/02/11/sochi-security/




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  4. @8:53, well I tried applying for phone jobs, but the moment employers saw my nasogastric feeding tube, I would never get that offer letter.

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  5. If your feeding tube and/or wheelchair are required on a long-term basis, I'd certainly hope that your representative is putting together an On-The-Record request and arguing a listing or listing equivalence. On-the-Record decisions are supposed to eliminate the need for claimants who clearly meet the program's requirements to wait months/years for a hearing when their medical records alone justify granting the case. They're not easily granted (especially these days) but it doesnt hurt to try either. Unfortunately not all representatives do.

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  6. @ 11:10, if you feel you are being denied employment because of physical disability, please feel free to sue whomever is doing the denying.

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  7. 8:53 and 2:13 are clearly trolls dealing with their own emotional issues, try to have pity on them and their ilk

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