Able Investigations

FOX 6 News Interview with Howard Eisemann of Able Forensic Investigations

MySpace Risking Your Rights

I’s the social networking website loaded with a plethora of information. People use it for networking, blogging, personal profiles and self expression but now, it seems, employers may be logging onto MySpace to find out information about you.

Howard Eisemann is a private investigator with Able Investigations out of Del Mar. He says a large part of his business is conducting background checks.

“We use MySpace. We Google. There’s a number of things we use,” said Eisemann. “What we’ll do is we’ll use that as a place to embark upon more in-depth investigation.”

Rebecca Rauber with the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says when it comes to the internet, the groundwork is still being laid.

“There’s still a lot of question about what is legal, what might not be legal and who may be violating whom’s rights,” said Rauber.

She says it comes down to two factors: private or public entity. With a public entity such as a government agency, an employee will have more rights.

“Our founders created some protections for us to make sure the government wasn’t abusing our personal and privacy rights and personal activities,” said Rauber.

Private Investigators say “public” or “private,” employers should not be relying on information obtained from the internet. By its very nature, anybody can say anything they want.

“It’s hearsay,” said Eisemann. “Should the employee decide to sue the company, hearsay or any information found on the internet would most likely not hold up in court.”