Facebook and other social platforms are watching users’ chats for criminal activity and notifying police if any suspicious behavior is detected, according to a report.
The screening process begins with scanning software that monitors chats for words or phrases that signal something might be amiss, such as an exchange of personal information or vulgar language.
The software pays more attention to chats between users who don’t already have a well-established connection on the site and whose profile data indicate something may be wrong, such as a wide age gap. The scanning program is also “smart” — it’s taught to keep an eye out for certain phrases found in the previously obtained chat records from criminals including sexual predators.
If the scanning software flags a suspicious chat exchange, it notifies Facebook security employees, who can then determine if police should be notified.
Keeping most of the scanned chats out of the eyes of Facebook employees may help Facebook deflect criticism from privacy advocates, but whether the scanned chats are deleted or stored permanently is yet unknown.
The new details about Facebook’s monitoring system came from an interview which the company’s Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan gave to Reuters. At least one alleged child predator has been brought to trial directly as a result of Facebook’s chat scanning, according to Reuters’ report.
When asked for a comment, Facebook only repeated the remarks given by Sullivan to Reuters: “We’ve never wanted to set up an environment where we have employees looking at private communications, so it’s really important that we use technology that has a very low false-positive rate.”

SEE ALSO: State Law Requires Sex Offenders to List Status on Facebook
Facebook works with law enforcement “where appropriate and to the extent required by law to ensure the safety of the people who use Facebook,” according to a page on its site.

“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. This may include respecting requests from jurisdictions outside of the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law under the local laws in that jurisdiction, apply to users from that jurisdiction, and are consistent with generally accepted international standards.
“We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to protect ourselves and you from people violating our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts or other government entities.”

Indeed, Facebook has cooperated with police investigations in the past. In April, it complied with a police subpoena from the Boston Police Department by sending printouts of wall posts, photos and login/IP data of a murder suspect.
Is Facebook doing a public service by monitoring chats for criminal behavior? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Remember when film projectors and PowerPoint presentations were considered cutting-edge in the classroom? As modern technology advances, so does innovation in schools across all levels.
In fact, about 91% of teachers in the U.S. have access to computers in the classrooms, according to data highlighted in a new infographic by Australian-based online course company Open Colleges. Mobile technology is also finding its place in education. About 81% of teachers believe tablets enrich classroom learning, and one in five students have used a mobile app to keep coursework organized.
Meanwhile, six in 10 students have used a digital textbook, up from just four in 10 in 2011. As these trends continue, e-textbooks are expected to make up 11% of textbook revenue by 2013. Staying connected is top of mind at many U.S. universities — about 51% said they viewed wireless upgrades as a tech priority in 2011 and 2012.

SEE ALSO: How Higher Education Uses Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]


Not surprisingly, research has shown that embracing technology in the classroom is helping the learning process. For example, teachers that integrated digital games into lessons increased average test scores by 91.5% compared to traditional non-digital games (79.1%).
Although college professors are more likely to use social media for coursework (80%), about 29% of all teachers embrace the medium. Students (40%) are on board with using social media to help with their education.
What are some of the most innovative ways you have seen technology used in the classroom? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, skynesher

Facebook is rolling out Activity Log to mobile, a privacy feature that was only available in your computer-bound account. The log lets users monitor and control what shows up on their Timelines.
This means you won’t have to wait to delete automatically generated “stories” such as the dozen times you listened to “Call Me Maybe” on Spotify.


If you have the new log, you can find it on your Timeline profile page in the listing that includes About, Photos and Friends. (If not, be patient. You should see it soon.) From the mobile activity log, you can see the privacy setting associated with each action you took on the social network or with a Facebook-connected app. You can delete any of the activities in the list by clicking on the circle next to an item.
The mobile log is a stripped down version of what you’ll find on your desktop. Located under your Timeline cover photo, the Activity Log lets you change each activity’s privacy settings, rather than just delete items. Only you can see your Activity Log.
On the desktop, you can adjust who sees your activities and how each will appear on your Timeline. Choosing “featured” enlarges the selected story, so it spans the page, “allowed” is the default setting and a post you’ve made is shown in the regular single-column size, while “hidden” hides the story from view, but still lis