I'm not sure im ok with this. Social worker/Facebook

[notacooldad]

I was talking to some social workers before our zoom training meeting started.
We were talking about caseloads and one says that she always has a quick look to see if the child has Facebook. She'll look through to see who their friends are and says a lot of kids don't lock their profile down so she can get an insight to the child.
Some thought it was an invasion of privacy, someone else said it was in a public space. I just think I feel like banging my head against a wall because young people aren't listening when I'm doing internet safety sessions and keeping safe!!
What do people think? Should the SW snope? I can see both sides tbh but wouldn't want to do it.

@LoveVelo

As a PP said, regular checking can constitute directed surveillance - even on a publicly open page - if, and I stress if, it's being undertaken by a public body. If undertaken regularly it may be subject to a RIPA authority. This advice received from a Barrister specialising in RIPA.

We're talking about a vulnerable child under a care plan.

Yes it’s appropriate and I’ve worked with social workers who’ve used this to prove DV relationships are ongoing despite parents assurances there’s no contact. Also I’ve been to a meeting where a 14 year old at risk of CSE posted they were in the home of a known exploiter with photos of them drinking etc. Parents in that case were aware and not bothered but social worker obviously was concerned

[quote LaLaLandIsNoFun]suesspiciousminds.com/tag/ripa/[/quote]
This is the lawyer who did our training

Do any young people still use facebook?

If it's online where anyone can easily find it, that's not snooping.

Of course social media pages will be looked at if the privacy settings allow; it's a public space and can provide a lot of insight.

@Undertheoldlindentree

Do any young people still use facebook?

No, they use insta and Snapchat mainly and their stories are usually set to private so there isn't much to see!

@Undertheoldlindentree

Do any young people still use facebook?

It's usually parents who use Facebook with low privacy settings

Do any young people still use facebook?
Apparently so in my area, as well as all the other platforms teenagers use.

Totally disagree.

I go out in public all of the time. That doesn't mean that a social worker or anyone else is allowed to follow me everywhere I go. I do not consider this to be any different. I'd argue that the information is not in the 'public domain' because the social worker has to actively go and look for the information.

The subject on the other end will also be able to see that the social worker has viewed their information as well which opens up another can of worms.

Very sensible thing to do

@GreyhoundG1rl, I'm not saying I necessarily agree as I fully understand the rationale as to why this would be done.
Just reiterating the information provided on the post made by MazekeenSmith

[quote LaLaLandIsNoFun]suesspiciousminds.com/tag/ripa/[/quote]
This is what most people don’t seem to be aware of but should be.

@Moomoolandmoomooland

Totally disagree.

I go out in public all of the time. That doesn't mean that a social worker or anyone else is allowed to follow me everywhere I go. I do not consider this to be any different. I'd argue that the information is not in the 'public domain' because the social worker has to actively go and look for the information.

The subject on the other end will also be able to see that the social worker has viewed their information as well which opens up another can of worms.

No they won't, you can't see who has viewed an open profile. Whether social media is the public domain is not a settled question. Certainly in my experience judges are happy to accept Facebook page printouts as evidence.

What training do they have in handling this information? What processes are in place to make them accountable for collecting, storing and using the information and how transparent are they in how and why it is used?

I find it interesting that everyone accepts that social media is not a true representation of a person and their life but take it at face value when making judgements that affect someone's life such as job offers and social work.

Not straightforward at all. Across SW in general it is an area of debate as to how much it contravenes the HRA amongst other things. Legally and ethically a complex area.

Yes of course they should look at what's written for the public to read.

On the other hand, I genuinely don't know a single teenager who uses Facebook and I say that as the mother of a recently turned 18 year old son.

Yeah I don't see why not if it gives a true reflection and its not private. There was a mum sharing a post about a teenager missing in my area a few weeks ago. She tagged the girl, so I clicked on her profile to have a look and see if id seen/recognised her and was so shocked at the stuff on her profile that her mum must of been seeing. She was 14 and there was pictures of her with drugs in her hand, then pics about her being out her face on various drugs and alcohol. Pics in compromising positions, posts about who shed had sex with the night before. Luckily the girl appeared a few hours later. So yeah, if looking can give social workers an idea of a child's life then I think they should as they will have a clear idea of what they need to help them with.

We, how many teens have Fb these days? Insta at best, surely.

Why not? Also the children need reminding that anybody can see their posts.

No teens want to be posting on the same social media platform as their mum, dad and granny.

So the chances are whatever's on show to the public, was posted years ago anyway.

We, how many teens have Fb these days? Insta at best, surely.
Teens seem to, like adults have multiple social media platforms.
I just did a quick search from case load and there i have found 28 out of 36 of my cases that have an active account.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit

I think its bloody good way of seeing how vulnerable a child is actually.

Exactly this!

If everybody else on Facebook can look at any profile they wanted to, why would SW be singled out as the only profession that can’t?

SarahBellam, it's not just SWs, it would apply to an employee of any public body using social media as open source material.