According to a recent article by The Network Journal, U.S. law enforcement agents are using popular social-networking services according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a perspective of future issues related to law and rights.

The document, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, makes clear that U.S. agents are exchanging messages with suspects, identify a target’s friends or relatives and browse private information such as postings, personal photographs and video clips.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group, obtained the Justice Department document when it sued the agency and five others in federal court. The 33-page document underscores the importance of social networking sites to U.S. authorities.

In the past agents monitored AOL and MSN chat rooms to nab sexual predators. But today’s social media contains mountains of personal data, photographs, videos and audio clips — a potential treasure trove of evidence. Read the full article here.

Hustletown readers: Social networking sites are intrinsic to most entrepreneurs’ marketing in this era. How involved should government be in this form of media?