Facebook sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration saying that agents of the federal agency will need to use their real names in creating Facebook accounts. This issue arose when a DEA agent use a fake profile in order to trap criminals.
Facebook Chief of Security Joe Sullivan criticized the DEA for permitting one of its agents to create a fake profile using the name of a suspect. Sullivan said that the DEA agent violated the social networks rules and wants the DEA to deactivate the fake profile and desist from creating future similar accounts in Facebook. The social network company has been trying hard to delete Facebook account users who are using fake profiles.
Buzz Feed posted a report in which Sondra Arquiett aka Sondra Prince was arrested by the DEA for her involvement in a drug syndicate in 2010. DEA Special Agent Timothy Sinnigen created a fake profile of Arquiett on Facebook. The agent posted her pictures and even a picture of her son and niece who are both minors at the time the photo was taken and posted on Facebook.
Arquiett has no knowledge of her fake profile in Facebook until a friend mentioned her pictures posted on the social network site. When Arquiett found out about the fake profile, she filed a suit against t DEA Special Agent Sinnigen.
The DEA replied that Arquiett gave her "implicit consent" by providing the data stored in her cell phone which was seized when she was arrested. Arquiett is suing the federal agency for $250,000 USD in damages. A spokesperson for the DEA told the press that the agency has "launched a review" but insisted that it is not a technique commonly practiced among its agents.
The DEA insists that the fake profile on Facebook was only used for legitimate investigation purposes only. A judge handed Arquiett a five years probation sentence. In March this year, Arquiett has been granted early termination of her probation due to her compliance with the terms of the sentence.
