I Spy With My Facebook Eye: Navigating the Ethics of Social Media Surveillance

Coco Griffiths
Sep 10, 2017
5 min read

A friend of mine, Michelle*, recently told me the latest saga with her ex-partner. She also revealed she had been stalking her ex on Facebook to conduct surveillance, even creating a fake Facebook account for the purpose. I felt a prickling of disapproval, but as I listened to her story (which I have included in a podcast below) I began to feel less sure about what was right and what was wrong in her situation. "The creation of a fake online persona may have different motivations behind it, and duplicity may not be one of the reasons." (Smith, Smith & Blazka 2017, p. 39)

"The creation of a fake online persona may have different motivations behind it, and duplicity may not be one of the reasons." (Smith, Smith & Blazka 2017, p. 39)

I Spy... by Coco Griffiths

It's common to view other people’s Facebook profiles. People we are connected with and those we aren’t. There is information to be gleaned from profile photos, friends lists, posts and comments etc. These SNS affordances encourage us to view others' profiles (Tokunga 2011, p. 705), but when this practise becomes covert, inappropriate or obsessive it may be referred to as "Facebook stalking" (Lyndon, Bonds-Raacke & Cratty 2011, p. 711). The surveilled are usually people from our past or future: old or new friends, old or new workmates.

My friend, Michelle, is not alone in her stalking habit. It seems that very often the surveilled are our ex-partners. In 2011, research found that over 50% of the sample group had stalked their ex-partner using Facebook (Lyndon, Bonds-Raacke & Cratty 2011, p. 712). Facebook stalking can even be beneficial post-relationship, allowing users to gather information in order to process the break-up without straining relationships with friends and family (Tong 2013, p. 19-20).

In 2012, CNN reported that up to 8.7% of Facebook profiles were fake.

In 2012, CNN reported that up to 8.7% of Facebook profiles were fake (Kelly, 2012). In a recent Twitter poll approximately 30% of respondents said they had used a friend’s account to covertly stalk a blocked account. Did they really mean 'a friend' or did they mean themselves? Lyndon, Bonds-Raacke & Cratty's research found only a very small percentage of people created a fake Facebook profile with malicious intent towards their ex. (Lyndon Bonds-Raacke & Cratty 2011, p. 712), but what this research didn't ascertain was how many had created a fake profile to conduct passive surveillance?

...how many had created a fake profile to conduct passive surveillance?

The reasons for creating fake SNS profiles, aside from surveillance, are varied and not always for ill-intent, they include: freedom, Catfishing, code testing, self-promotion, spamming, bullying, self-protection, fun and escapism (Speeli, 2017). It is reported 20% of parents have used this technique to monitor their children (Packham, 2015), likewise coaches their players (Smith, Smith & Blazka 2017, p. 35), and even the Australian Tax Office uses a form of SNS surveillance to monitor discrepancies in income reporting (White 2016).

... information obtained by police using a fake Instagram profile was ruled admissible as evidence in court...

It may be unethical to do what Michelle has done, but it’s not necessarily illegal. Information obtained by American police using a fake Instagram profile was ruled admissible as evidence in court (Foster 2016 p.14). The question of legality over creating a fake SNS profile often comes down to intent and copyright. If the creator doesn't intend to use the account for any malicious or illegal purpose, and hasn’t infringed on anyone’s copyright by stealing images or identity, then it may not be a breach of the law (Boutique 2017). Laws in this area are changing and differ depending on your location. Having a fake Facebook profile does breach Facebook’s terms and conditions and can result in a ban from the platform. Conflicting with this policy, Facebook has updated it's iconic SNS with an affordance to assist with multiple account logins from one device, an affordance that may be most useful to people who operate multiple Facebook profiles.

I Spy With My Facebook Eye... An interview with Michelle* about her fake SNS profile

Before Michelle told me about her fake account I regarded her as an honest, ethical person. Her confession made me reconsider my judgement. When I assessed the reasons she had utilised the surveillance opportunities SNS affordances offered her and what I would do if I were in her situation, I decided that morality isn't always black and white. Just as the law does, I focused on Michelle's intent. Her reason for creating that false profile was not to do harm, but to protect. Has Michelle's intent put her on the moral high-ground in this particular situation? Does the end justify the means?

REFERENCES

Boutique, T. (2017). Fake Facebook Profiles: Are They Legal? Can I Get in Trouble?. [online] TurboFuture. Available at: https://turbofuture.com/internet/Fake-Facebook-Profiles-Are-They-Legal-Can-I-Get-in-Trouble [Accessed 8 Sep. 2017].

Foster, A (2016). Admissibility of Social Media Evidence in Federal Court: Is It What It Purports to Be?, Computer & Internet Lawyer, 33, 6, pp. 13-16, Legal Source, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 August 2017.

Kelly, H. (2012). 83 million Facebook accounts are fakes and dupes - CNN. [online] CNN. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/02/tech/social-media/facebook-fake-accounts/index.html [Accessed 8 Sep. 2017].

Lyndon, A, Bonds-Raacke, J, & Cratty, A 2011, College students' Facebook stalking of ex-partners, Cyberpsychology, Behavior And Social Networking, 14, 12, pp. 711-716, MEDLINE Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 31 August 2017.

Packham, A. (2015). Have You Set Up A Fake Facebook Account To Spy On Your Kids?. [online] HuffPost UK. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/28/catfish-parents-fake-social-media-profiles-to-spy-on-kids_n_7458604.html [Accessed 8 Sep. 2017].

Smith, L, Smith, K, & Blazka, M 2017, Follow Me, What's the Harm? Considerations of Catfishing and Utilizing Fake Online Personas on Social Media, Journal Of Legal Aspects Of Sport, 27, 1, p. 32-43, Complementary Index, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 September 2017.

Speeli. (2017). Why do some people create fake social network profiles. [online] Available at: http://www.speeli.com/articles/view/Why-do-some-people-create-fake-social-network-profiles [Accessed 8 Sep. 2017].

Tokunaga, RS (2011). Social networking site or social surveillance site? Understanding the use of interpersonal electronic surveillance in romantic relationships, Computers In Human Behavior, 27, 2, pp. 705-713, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, viewed 31 August 2017.

Tong, S. (2013). Facebook Use During Relationship Termination: Uncertainty Reduction and Surveillance. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking. 16. 10.1089/cyber.2012.0549.

White, A. (2016). Facebook used to catch tax cheats. [online] Theaustralian.com.au. Available at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/treasury/australian-taxation-office-turns-to-facebook-to-catch-cheats/news-story/6d4bca2d0223dcb3924c061fa28bc3f9 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2017].

IMAGES & GRAPHICS

Header image: Background images,'mouth-2372008_1280' by Anemone123 (CC0) https://pixabay.com/en/mouth-lips-smile-girl-gloss-young-2372008/ and 'lips-1991471_1280' by 4304553 (CC0) https://pixabay.com/en/lips-red-rouge-mouth-woman-1991471/, both edited by Coco Griffiths using PicMonkey.

I Spy...: Face image,'face-636092_1280' by geralt (CC0) https://pixabay.com/en/face-soul-head-smoke-light-sad-636092/, edited by Coco Griffiths using PicMonkey.

Top 10 Reasons To Create Fake SNS Profiles infographic: Created by Coco Griffiths using Canva.

Stalk, Don't Stalk - GIF provided by GIPHY on the WIX website platform

PODCAST

Podcast created by Coco Griffiths using macOS Sierra, Adobe Audition and SoundCloud

Background image: I Spy...: Face image,'face-636092_1280' by geralt (CC0) https://pixabay.com/en/face-soul-head-smoke-light-sad-636092/, edited by Coco Griffiths using PicMonkey.

Music: 'Hold On (feat. Ranja)' by Elliot Berger (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) https://soundcloud.com/elliotbergermusic/hold-on-feat-ranja

*Michelle's identity, including her name and voice, have been substituted to protect her anonymity.

COMMENTS

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