Facebook 101
Law Enforcement Requests
The Facebook Mission
Facebook provides people with the power to share, making the world more open and connected.
Background
• Facebook strives to respect the balance between
law enforcement’s need for information to aid
criminal investigations and our users’ privacy
rights. As a responsible company we adhere to the
letter and spirit of the law.
• Our Privacy Policy makes clear that we may
disclose information pursuant to subpoenas,
court orders, or other requests (including criminal
and civil matters) if we have a good faith belief
that the response is required by law. If we believe
the law does not support the request, we will
push back and have even gone to court to resist
government demands.
• Facebook’s Legal and Security teams regularly
work with law enforcement officials when they are
investigating criminal activity. We have developed
materials to help them understand the proper
ways to request information to aid investigations.
• Because the law in this area is complex, Facebook
has internal policies and external guidelines to
help law enforcement understand Facebook and
proper ways to request information. A big part
of our job is explaining applicable laws and their
limitations on access to Facebook
user information.
• All Facebook employees evaluating law
enforcement requests receive specialized training
and are required to become CIPP (Certified
Information Privacy Professionals) certified by
the IAPP (International Association of Privacy
Professionals).
• To ensure we are fulfilling both our responsibility
to comply with the law and our commitment to
protect users’ rights, we scrutinize every single
information request; require a detailed description
of why the request is being made; and if it is
deemed appropriate, share only the minimum
amount of information.
• In rare instances, our policies and laws (like the
Electronic Communications Policy Act) allow for
rapid sharing of information without a court
order. In the event of a verified emergency, like a
kidnapping where every minute counts, we feel a
responsibility to transmit limited data that could
save a life.
• Even in emergency situations, we share only the
minimum amount of information—like whether a
particular user has logged in. The sharing must, in
our judgment, be in the best interest of the user.
The vast majority of requests don’t meet
that standard.
• A significant reason people find Facebook useful
and enjoyable is that it is designed to reflect
people’s real identieies. We do not encourage
or support anyone—including law enforcement
officials—creating a fake identity on Facebook. We
remove such accounts when they are detected by
sweeps of fake accounts or other means.
About Facebook
Founded in February 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give
people the power to share and make the world more open and
connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with
the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a
privately held company headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
Updated: Feb. 2011