Judge: It’s OK for cops to create fake Instagram accounts

United States District Judge William Martini has signed off on the practice of law enforcement using a fake Instagram account in order to become "friends" with a suspect -- thus obtaining photos and other information that a person posts to their account.

"No search warrant is required for the consensual sharing of this type of information," he wrote. "[Defendant Daniel] Gatson’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained through the undercover account will be denied." The criminal case, known as United States v. Daniel Gatson, involves a man accused of perpetrating a long series of burglaries (taking primarily jewelry worth over $3 million in total) in New Jersey and neighboring regions. Gatson, representing himself in the case, had attempted to have the data collected from Instagram thrown out as he claimed there was no probable cause to search or seize such data.