A New York state appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Facebook
had no legal standing to challenge search warrants on behalf of its
customers, a decision that dealt a blow to civil libertarians and social
media companies seeking to expand Internet privacy.
Upholding
a lower court decision, the five-judge panel in Manhattan said that
under state and federal law only a defendant can challenge a search
warrant, and it must be done during a hearing before trial. At that
point, defendants can move to have evidence thrown out as the fruit of
an illegal search.
