Getting information from Facebook and MySpace, the two biggest social networks, can be an important
litigation tool. While Facebook will accept service by fax or mail,
MySpace requires personal service on its registered agent at the
following address:
MySpace received your request for information regarding
proper service of legal process. MySpace requires personal service of
legal requests to our registered agent in Los Angeles.
Please note that MySpace requires specific information in order to
comply with your legal request. Providing only the user’s first and
last names or dates of birth is not sufficient to identify the user’s
profile. MySpace requires that you provide the user’s unique friend ID
number or url. The friend ID number is located in the url line. For
example, within the url
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=6221&Mytoken=20050518161358,
the friend ID is 6221.
The type of information MySpace can produce in response to a legal
request is restricted by federal law. With a subpoena, MySpace may
lawfully produce basic subscriber information and IP logs for a user’s
account. MySpace is prohibited from lawfully producing the contents of
a user’s private mail messages or stored content files held or
maintained on behalf of a user to a any non-government entity, by the
Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) 18 U.S.C. §§ 2702-2703. The materials
protected from disclosure by Section 2702(a)(2) include MySpace user
content including, but not limited to, friend lists, photos, blogs and
private messages.
If these records are truly integral to the instant case, the clearly
available mechanism for obtaining them is for the owner of the MySpace
accounts in question to consent. For civil matters, this consent must
be accompanied by a subpoena. To provide proper consent, MySpace
requires that a user supply a signed statement containing the friend ID
for the account, the password associated with the account, the user’s
zip code, and the birth date provided to MySpace. You may also obtain
an Order from the court compelling the owner of the account to consent
to the disclosure of the emails in question.
MySpace requires personal service of subpoenas in civil matters.
MySpace will accept personal service at 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite
700, Los Angeles, CA 90067 between the hours of 9:30-12:30 and
2:30-5:30. Personal service will also be accepted at CSC locations
throughout the state of California. For a list of California locations,
please call 888-690-2882. All subpoenas should be addressed to the
Custodian of Records for MySpace.com. Additionally, MySpace will only
accept subpoenas from out-of-state civil litigants if they have been
properly domesticated through a California court.
The author followed up with Facebook and obtained the contact information to (1) preserve
information, and (2) get ahold of it. Here is the address and fax where
you should send your subpoena or court order:
Facebook
Attn: Security Department
1601 South California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94304
fax: 650.644.3229
For civil matters, Facebook requires a subpoena from California or New York. Here is the full e-mail from Facebook:
Thank you for contacting Facebook.
If you are requesting that information on our site be preserved,
please send a preservation order by mail or fax to the following
address:
Facebook
1601 S California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Attn: Security Department
Fax Number (650) 644-3229
Please provide as much of the following information as possible to expedite your request:
- Your full contact information (name, physical address, phone and email):
- Response date due (please allow 2-4 weeks for processing):
- Full name of user(s):
- Full URL to Facebook profile:
- School/networks:
- Birth date:
- Known email addresses:
- IM account ID:
- Phone numbers:
- Address:
- Period of activity (specific dates will most likely expedite your request):
Please be sure that your contact information is valid, so that we can contact you with updates on your request status.
Although providing this information will enable us to identify the
account in question so that we can preserve available information, we
will also need a valid subpoena or other court order in order to
provide this information to you. This subpoena or court order should be
mailed or faxed to the above address.
Governmental Agency
Please note that if the requesting party is a governmental agency, a
search warrant is required for private inbox and/or outbox
communication 180 days old or less. See 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a).
Civil Matters
For information being requested in a civil matter, a valid California or New York subpoena is required.
Per our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy we may release information
in an expedited manner for cases involving imminent bodily harm. Please
contact us immediately via email at [subpoena /at/ facebook /dot/ com]
with the subject “IMMINENT HARM” to request data under this clause.
Determination of the amount of information which may be released under
this clause is at Facebook’s sole discretion.
Source: Lawyerist.com
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