Facebook Refuses to Hand Over Pirate Information

When United Nations investigators approached Facebook for help tracking down suspected Somali pirates, Facebook basically gave them a metaphorical Kanye shrug. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2021 The Root 100 – 2022 The Root 100 – 2023 Video will return here when scrolled back into view Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video…

When United Nations investigators approached Facebook for help tracking down suspected Somali pirates, Facebook basically gave them a metaphorical Kanye shrug.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

Though some groups and companies have obliged such requests in the past, Facebook apparently isn't one of them, reports the U.N.'s Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. In an issued statement, Facebook said that the group "had no legal authority to demand data from the company."ย 

The Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea reports that pirates use social media networks to coordinate and communicate among themselves, although two pirates who spoke to the Associated Press deny the claims.

It's an interesting move, considering that Facebook was one of the Internet companies revealed to have supplied the National Security Agency with information on its users. A Washington, D.C., lawyer speculates that Facebook may have turned down the U.N. because "it is trying to become involved with Internet regulation."

Read more at NBC News.

Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.

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