Court directs Facebook to hand over users' data to police

New York, July 22: A New York state court has asked Facebook to provide users' data to police who have issued 381 search warrants as part of an investigation into a social security fraud, a media report said on Wednesday.

According to the ruling, the social networking site cannot challenge search warrants that demand the users' photos, private messages and account data, Mashable reported.

The 381 search warrants were served by the Manhattan District Attorney's office to Facebook. The ruling came after Facebook filed an appeal after cooperating with prosecutors earlier.

"We continue to believe that overly broad search warrants are unconstitutional and raise important concerns about the privacy of people's online information," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable.

"We are considering our options to keep fighting on behalf of the people who use our service," he added.

Earlier, at least 62 people have been charged in a disability fraud case for feigning illnesses or injuries. With Facebook's cooperation, prosecutors unearthed photos of users performing martial arts or riding jet skis, proving they had lied about their disabilities.

IANS