The NYPD has shut down for now a Brooklyn precinct’s Twitter feed that warned residents when local felons had been released from prison, reports DNAInfo. The precinct commander used the feed to post the photos and names of ex-cons who were back on the streets, arguing that it was public information that protected residents. Privacy advocates countered that it was unfair, and maybe illegal, because the criminals had served their time. Either way, the site has been dark since Dec. 16, and NYPD chief Ray Kelly says the department needs to re-evaluate its social media protocol: “We want to examine the whole issue. Obviously, social media, we want to use it productively. We want to use it legally. A lot of this is just new ground. It needs to be examined, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
