Twitter Advanced Search

Be sure not to miss that Twitter has an advanced search tool that you can use to filter down anyone's Twitter feed to a particular date range. See: https://twitter.com/search-advanced?lang=en , where you can login to your Twitter account. Enter the account name you want to search through in the field labeled, 'From these accounts'.

. . .then scroll down and enter a date range at the bottom of the search tool interface.

A search can also be run in the main Twitter search tool in this format:

(from:PolatCanRojava) until:2020-04-01 since:2014-11-01

Be sure to click on the 'Latest' tab to get the full results. On the 'Top' tab the search results will be cut off.

Facebook E2EE

As discussed in the Tip of the Night for December 10, 2010, Facebook Messenger can be set to use end-to-end encryption. Follow these steps to enable E2EE in Messenger, which is only available on iPhones and Android devices.

1. In Facebook Messenger after clicking on the pen and pad icon to begin a new message, tap 'Secret' in the upper right corner.

2. The new message will include a caption indicating that end-to-end encryption is enabled.

3. At the left you'll be able to click on a clock icon which will set any messages you send to disappear at a set time interval.

E2EE will prevent anyone except for the recipient from accessing your message. The recipient will not need to take any steps to de-crypt the message, but the message will include a caption indicating that it is encrypted. To be clear, the benefit of E2EE is that the service provider, Facebook itself, is prevented from reading the messages. But Facebook Messenger is not E2EE by default. The Facebook owned WhatsApp text messaging app does use end-to-end encryption by default.

Using Facebook to Transmit PHI Violates VA Rules

Last month, Magistrate Judge Eric Long issued a decision, Cook v. U.S. Dep't of Veteran Affairs, No. 19-2119, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231763 (C.D. Ill. Nov. 12, 2020), affirming a decision by a disciplinary board of the Department of Veteran Affairs to remove Cook from federal employment. Cook was employed as a physician, and the reasons for his dismissal included using Facebook Messenger to consult a patient about her ailments and send her information about her prescriptions. Cook also had sexual intercourse with the patient. Departmental rules require that encryption products be used to provide access to sensitive information. The rules required Cook to only post "sensitive information to web-based collaboration tools restricted to those who have a need-to-know and when proper safeguards are in place for sensitive information." Id. at *15 (citing R. 307).

One of the reasons why Cook requested that his dismissal be reversed was that the board's findings were not supported by substantial evidence. His bases for this assertion included the fact that he did not initiate the contact with the patient through Facebook. Judge Long concluded that, "Cook implicitly encouraged Patient A to contact him through Facebook because he continued to offer medical advice and refill prescriptions through Facebook from October 2017 until May 2018. " Id. at *16. The fact that Facebook was not an encryption application approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Cook's failure to take measures to safeguard the patient's information constituted substantial evidence to support his dismissal.

You have to wonder if the Court would have ruled differently if Cook had enabled end-to-end encryption - a feature which is available for Facebook Messenger.