Facebook: "We're working with the US Secret Service, but they'll need to provide...

[Jackeens]

....any details of their investigation," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's spokesman for policy.


What does he mean by that?? Why does the Secret service need to do anything for Facebook....or am I completely misunderstanding this (highly probable!).


From here:

US probes Obama 'death' web poll

The US Secret Service is investigating a poll posted on social networking site Facebook, asking people if they think President Obama "should be killed".

The poll, posted on Saturday, was taken off the site as soon as the company was made aware of it.

It was put up on the site using a third-party application that was unconnected with the social networking site itself.

US Officials will take "the appropriate investigative steps," a spokesman said.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8279777.stm

[NYC Liberal]

1. Probably just means the SS needs to tell Facebook exactly what info they're gonna need

So Facebook can gather it for them.

[goclark]

2. Facebook should know by now what this is all about

Don't like their response at all.

[Posteritatis]

11. Why not?

It seems straightforward to me; the Secret Service is the one investigating this, not Facebook, so Facebook can't exactly provide details on what the SS is up to.

[TheBigotBasher]

3. Facebook knows what they will need.

The ID of the user or company that posted the survey and the details of respondents. Secret Service can go on from there.

[johnfunk]

4. Who should be more worried: the poll poster, or the people who answered "yes"? Could this be...

... a ploy to ferret out potential or actual eliminationists?

[Parker CA]

5. I wouldn't be shocked if that is the motivation. Someone posted that the poll had been up for a

month. Hard to believe it would've been up for a month if it was not designed to attract the loons.

[Political Tiger]

6. I think what they are saying is

that any inquiries about the investigation should be directed to the Secret Service and not Facebook as I'm sure the Secret Service isn't going to tell Facebook what's going on.

[lynne]

7. That's the way I'm reading it, too. /eom

[high density]

8. I think that means Facebook can't speak for the Secret Service. NM

[RJDem]

12. I agree

No mystery here for me.

[janx]

9. Facebook, or the poll application developer/provider,

turns the information over to the Secret Service. So yes, you have misunderstood.

The Secret Service works to provide security for any U.S. president--and a host of other public figures (former presidents and politicians, etc.).

So Facebook and the application company that provided Facebook with its service have turned this over to the Secret Service.

[WCGreen]

10. I guess they are trying to reconnect with the Treasury Department