I have always suspected that Facebook and Twitter had far grander plans than just being silly social networking tools for teenagers and web-geeks, but who knew that the sites are just fronts for the police? Not just any police either, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The cops use television - Chris Hansen’s “To Catch a Predator” - and chat-rooms to lure criminals. For awhile, the FBI has been using pseudo personalities on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn to trap suspects, who may be indiscreet enough to divulge incriminating information about themselves. These filthy drug cartels, child molesters, and kingpins have profited off the internet for decades. Now, it is time for the internet to strike back, with the help of gigantic resources like Twitter and Facebook, manipulated by the Feds.

There are only two big issues here: privacy and circumvention of established rules. Innocent suspects could have their private lives exposed. I suppose the FBI’s response would be that people should not publish extremely sensitive information on their private Facebook pages. Remember that the FBI still does not have the authority to access your e-mails, for example, without a warrant. The other objection raised is the FBI’s direct violation of Facebook’s policy that stipulates users cannot fabricate information about themselves. The next time that you poke that hottie, please do not forward salacious pictures/films of yourself before ascertaining if the other part is really an FBI agent.