Balancing the privacy of students and the law

For the past week, students have decried Public Safety's usage of facebook.com as an investigative tool. Following student complaints and an "online protest" which included poking and blocking officers' accounts, Public Safety issued several guidelines and limitations that they will practice when using Facebook. Although many students remain dissatisfied, we believe that these guidelines properly balance student concerns about privacy with Public Safety's need to have effective crime fighting tools at its disposal.

The primary criticism by students is that their privacy is being violated by Public Safety when its officers view personal profiles or images. But as University and Public Safety officials have noted, this perception of privacy is not legally supported.

The attitude of many students reflects an unrealistic and troubling conception of Internet privacy. Personal information posted on most websites, including Facebook, is part of the public domain. Public Safety, potential employers and potential friends have access to that information. Students need to be aware that posting images on Facebook is like posting photos on Frist bulletin boards. Anyone can see them.

Furthermore, Public Safety clearly benefits from the use of Facebook. It is the duty of Public Safety to enforce state laws and University policies. Although some students may not agree with the application of such regulations in all cases, that does not change Public Safety's obligation to enforce those regulations efficiently and quickly.

Yet student concerns that Public Safety can search student profiles for keywords like "drinking" or "smoking" and further investigate those students are legitimate. Public Safety appears to have recognized this issue, however, and has pledged to only use Facebook to continue ongoing investigations. It has also prohibited its officers from misrepresenting their identities by posing as students on Facebook.

Those who are still unhappy with the present situation certainly have recourse. Their first and most obvious option is not to break the law or University policies. Most college students will break rules at some point during their college careers, but they should be prepared to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. The right to post pictures of last night's party is not protected by some infinitely large right to privacy. With the new Facebook guidelines and regulations, which balance claims to privacy with the need for effective law enforcement, Public Safety's use of Facebook is now more reasonable.