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Searching Social Media
Pennsylvania Bar Institute
April 2013
Jennifer Ellis
Lowenthal & Abrams, PC&
Jennifer Ellis, JDwww.jlellis.net
www.lowabram.com
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Today’s Discussion
What is Social Media?
Unique considerations
Legal Privacy
Ethical
How to Perform Research of Social Media
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1 billion
1 billion users per month
343 million
100 million4 billion photos
49 million
500 million
1 in 4
200 million
24 million1 million
businesses
Social Media = 2 Way Communication
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Unique Considerations
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Legal Issues – Improper Access
Felony and/or Misdemeanor Charges
Charges for Improper access to
E-Mail Social Media
All Accounts
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Federal
Electronic Communications Privacy Act18 USC § 2510-2522
Includes computer based communications Includes stored communications
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Federal
18 USC § 2511
Interception and disclosure of wire, oral,
or electronic communications prohibited
intentionally discloses, or endeavors to
disclose, to any other person thecontents of any…communication…
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Pennsylvania
18 § 7611. Unlawful use of computer andother computer crimes. (3rd Degree
Felony) Accesses or exceeds authorization to
access
Provides password or other informationallowing access to a third party
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Applies to:
Everyone
Spouses
Children Paralegals
Private Investigators
Attorneys
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Subpoenas for Data?
Most sites state they will not respond toa civil subpoena
Claim violates Stored CommunicationsAct
Some sites will surprise you so ask
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Subpoenas for Ownership
Some sites will cooperate
Provide email address
Provide username or ID number
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Privacy Issues –
Access Blocked
Unlike traditional research
Privacy settings can block access to
undesired viewers
Privacy settings often complex and confusing
Famous last words “I didn’t think anyone
could see it.”
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Privacy Issues
Four types of settings
Open (anyone can see)
Light (friends of friends) High (Friends only)
Highest (no one but the owner)
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Ethical Issues
Can’t do it off line, can’t do it online
No contacting/communicating with
represented party Includes certain employees if company
is opposing party
No communicating with jurors
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Friending is Communicating
Do not friend opposing party
Ok to friend witnesses
Must reveal who you are Do not ask a third party to friend those you
cannot friend
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Ethical Issues
Fine to review
What is publically available
What already connected people can see Watch for other issues, example
forcing employees to show employer
opposing party’s account Make sure employees and independent
contractors understand rules
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Note about Spoliation
Do not delete contact relevant to the case
Instruct clients not to delete contact
Recommend a signed letter to CYA
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Process and Examples
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Three or Four Pronged Approach
1. Gather Data about Person
2. Find Account(s)
3. Review Accounts 4. Verify Information
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1. Gather Data
Name(s)
Email Address(es)
Site(s) using Links to accounts
Is your client connected to the person?
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2. Find the Account
Use search techniques to find the account
Might require offline techniques
Cooperation of account owner Discovery
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3. Review the Account
Access what you can
Privacy settings will be an issue in some
cases Might require offline assistance
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4. Verify
Does the account belong to the person you areseeking?
Compare with what you know about the person
Pictures
Email address(es)
Other details
Use other accounts or online presence to verify Was the account created by a third party to hurt the
person?
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Facebook and Curtis D. Ellis
Curtis is suing Rami and Angelou for harm hesuffered:
Rami tried to touch Curtis’ Rawhide
Angelou lay on Curtis’ back
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The Claims
Cannot do his job, i.e. Guarding house andperson of his owner
Feels jumpy and distracted
Unable to focus as necessary
Having issues barking
Substantial loss of life enjoyment
Unable to
Eat his favorite food
Visit his friends
Engage in physical activity
Th Pl i tiff
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The Plaintiff
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The Defendants
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Pause to Review Facebook and
Privacy Settings
Privacy settings have a huge impact on
what you can see Friends can see a lot
Public can only see what owner of
account allows
Wh t th P bli C S
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What the Public Can See
No Information
Publicly SharedPhotos
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What the Public Can See
Looks Like Curtis
Doesn’t Post Much
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What Friends Can See
Details Curtishas shared Posts by
Others onCurtis’ Wall
Friends
Wh t F i d C S
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What Friends Can See
Check Ins tolocations
InterestsPosts andAnswers
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Individual Posts and Pictures
Choose Who Sees What
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Finding Someone
No Connection?
Very Difficult
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Get ID Link if You Can
• Individual settings matter here
too• The more private the settings
the harder to find• People can choose to be
searchable in Google, most
don’t
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Back to Curtis D. Ellis v.
Rami & Angelou
Curtis is friends on Facebook with Rami &
Angelou(Cats)
Cats can access his account
What has Curtis provided to counter the
claims?
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Post: Concerned about Cats
Curtis explains hisconcerns
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Picture: Angelou on Back
Angelou didin fact lay onCurtis’ back
H !
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However!
Curtis isClearlyGuarding
A d B ki
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And Barking
d i
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And Eating Burgers
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Curtis Might Have a ProblemWith his Case
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The Problem of Popular Names -
Verification
Question
Does Jennifer Ellis have a MySpace
Account? What do we know about Jennifer Ellis?
Lives in Pennsylvania
34 to 45 years old Attorney
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Look on Google?
3.2 Million Results
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Look on MySpace? 500 Results
L th T l f E h Sit
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Learn the Tools of Each Site
MySpace Advanced Search
2 R lt N Pi t
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2 Results – No Picture
E i A t
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Examine Account
i
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Follow Data Where it Leads
Examine Site for Clues
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Examine Site for Clues
Researching a Person Who Contacted
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Researching a Person Who Contacted
Your Client on Facebook
Someone posted something rude on aFacebook Page
Wanted to know who he was and why sooffended
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Finding the Person
Easy to find, because had posted on thePage
This gives link to account
Able to access his account and determine:
A Public Defender
In Maryland
Connected to Page through anotherattorney who had “Liked” the page.
Can send message to this person
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A Note about Facebook
Graph Search
New, more useful search
Looks for
People
Places
Things
Does not search posts
Does not override privacy settings
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Facebook Graph Search
Makes it easier to find
People
Business pages
Fan pages
Must sign up to access until given to
everyone https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch
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Do You Have Graph Search?
Yes
No
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Search Facebook Statuses
Status must be public
Are people talking about divorce on
Facebook? http://openstatussearch.com/
Does not catch everything
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Twitter Search
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Twitter Search
Twitter Requires Operators
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Twitter Requires Operators
More Twitter Operators
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More Twitter Operators
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Set Automatic Searches:
Twitter: monitter.com Set any number of searches
Shows in columns
Automatically updates
Uses same commands as regular Twittersearches
Includes location option
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YouTube
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YouTube: Filter
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YouTube: Filter
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Google+
Must be in your circles or
Publicly shared
Works like regular Google search Google+ results integrated into regular
Google results
Bookmark search for repetition
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Google+ : Filter
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g
LinkedIn Search
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LinkedIn Search
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Preserve the Data
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Preservation
Have a third party do the evidence
preservation
Don’t be a witness in your own case Use video and images to show
preservation
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How I Preserve & Authenticate
Video and audio recording of my actions onthe computer
Screen captures with Snag-It
Additional captures with Adobe Acrobat
All while explaining what I am doing
Mention account identifying information(email, ID number/name)
Date and time
Name of person doing the preservation
Thank You
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Thank You
Jennifer Ellis
Lowenthal & Abrams, PC
&
Jennifer Ellis, JD
[email protected]
www.jlellis.net