The New York Times reported Wednesday that a man arrested in connection with a robbery got the charges against him dropped by proving that a status updated was posted to his Facebook account at the time. Rodney Bradford, 19, hired a criminal defense attorney who informed the Brooklyn DA that Mr. Bradford had posted an update stating “on the phone with this fat chick… where’s my i hop.” at the time of the robbery; the DA then subpoenaed Facebook and determined that the update was posted from Mr. Bradford’s father’s apartment at the time in question.
While in the abstract this might seem like a great idea for defendants, Facebook’s quick acquiescence to a prosecutorial subpoena without judicial review raises troubling questions. User privacy continues to be an issue for Facebook, which has faced criticism from multiple groups about its poor record on protecting its users’ privacy from data mining, government intervention, and other sources. Even if Facebook’s overly lax policies are now benefiting defendants rather than just plaintiffs or the government, it may not be something to celebrate.