Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has chided the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for violating its terms. The issue was triggered after a lawsuit against the DEA for alleged privacy violations was made public.
Joe Sullivan, Facebook’s Chief Security Officer, said in a letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, that his company was concerned by the DEA’s conduct. It also went on to suggest that Facebook’s Community Standards policy applied to law enforcement agencies as well and asked the DEA to put an end to other similar activities immediately.
Privacy lawsuit against the DEA
Earlier this month, Sondra Arquiett sued Timothy Sinnigen, a DEA agent, and alleged that he had violated her privacy by creating a fake Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) profile using photos from her mobile phone. The DEA had justified its action by claiming that the Arquiett had given them access to use the contents of her mobile phone to help a criminal investigation.
The complainant was arrested in 2010 for dealing with cocaine and was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty. The DEA had used the fake profile to identify possible culprits. Facebook’s security chief, however, called it a severe violation of the social networking giant’s terms and conditions. The fake profile has since been removed from the website.
Facebook wins against German privacy agency
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has made it clear in the recent years that it took its real name policy seriously. It had defended its policy in court last year after the German privacy regulator, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, ordered the website to refrain from forcing European users to use their real name on their Facebook profiles.
Facebook emerged victorious after arguing that the German privacy laws did not apply to it as its European offices were located at Ireland and therefore, will be governed by Irish laws only.
