BC Govt. uses Facebook/Myspace to Spy on the Poor

According to the Tyee British Columbia officials are using social sites such as Facebook and Myspace to spy on welfare recipients.

"A message circulated in recent weeks to advocates working with people who receive financial help from the government warns that investigators use the Internet sites to look for evidence of "undisclosed co-habitation (living with someone), spending beyond what is provided by the ministry, casual employment, leaving the province for more than 30 days, gifts, pets and other income."
In each of those cases, the information might affect how much welfare a person could receive, or whether they would be eligible for help at all."

To me this sounds like an excuse for bureaucrats to spend their work days surfing the net and pretend that it is work related.