You see it all the time in the world of Facebook. Some idiot decides to make an accusation, such as my situation, and runs their own “investigation.” What you don’t see, or may not know, are the legalities of these actions. So, it is to say, I am going to give you the tools you need to wipe the floor with such brainless adolecents.
Investigations
First off, there are actual laws regarding the method to which an investigation is conducting, even within a workplace. While a company can conduct an internal investigation, this only applies to its current employees or those employed at the time the investigation began; this applies to 501c3, and other organizations as well.
Now, in this situation, if a company, or 501c3 is conducting an investigation on you, and you were never employed by them, they are breaking the law. It goes back to that magic word: internal investigation. Furthermore, if the investigation is being conducted in a harassing or malicious manner, that is also illegal.
No company, or 501c3 can conduct an external investigation unless licensed to do so. If they are not licensed to conduct one, that gives the investigative target legal grounds. Furthermore, if the findings are being shared via social media, it is now libel slander unless you can establish loss.
A loss can include friends, employment, etc. If any of these things have happened as a result of the fraudulant investigation, you can now sue for Defamation of character. For a 501c3, this is especially hurtful as you can actually sue for the revocation of its non profit status, removal of its president, or for ownership of the organization itself. To put this kindly, you can destroy an entire organization if they have committed this crime.
Who can conduct an investigation?
Alright, so there are a variety of agencies and people who can actually conduct an investigation.
Local and state police, FBI, etc. If we branch out to the civilian world, private investigators. What do all of these people have in common? All of them have obtained a license to do so. Law enforcement are granted this right via the state. Private investigators are given a license to conduct such investigation. If the person conducting one is not licensed to do so, any and all findings ars null and void, their evidence is useless in court. Firthermore, if they are blasting it on social media, the courts could rule that null as well, not to mention the ratifications of conducting the illegal investigation.
If the investigation is on your past, for example, a closed case, you could call double jepordy, especially if the “evidence” is being used against you. You can claim they are enacting as an unlawful court and are, essentially, placing you on trial once again; this is where social media can turn dark for offending parties.
To conduct this style of investigation, is very much illegal. Here, I will give you the breached law categories:
1. Stalking.
2. Harassment.
3. (Cyber) bullying.
4. Libel slander.
5. Defamation of character.
6. Conducting an unlawful investigation.
This, my friends, is your ammunition to fight back. If you are a victim of this, do not wait for it to just vanish, it rarely does. Take action, begin legal proceedings, and pdf anything posted to any social media platform that contains slander; this is how you end such slander. Do it right, keep it legal.
