With more than 150 million active users, there’s no shortage of weird groups to join on Facebook. For instance, are you one of the 805,589 people who enjoys flipping their pillow over to get to the cold side? Join the somewhat obviously named I FLIP MY PILLOW OVER TO GET TO THE COLD SIDE. When John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, were you one of the 239,906 people who thought you could do a better job? Check out I have more Foreign Policy Experience than Sarah Palin.

While most of these groups are frivolous and do not extend beyond the scope of Facebook, there are other groups that have not been received quite as warmly in the real world. For instance, in Italy, a number of Facebook groups dedicated to praising La Cosa Nostra (i.e. the Mob, the Mafia, etc.) have drawn the ire of police and government authorities. In a recent article at NYTimes.com, Rachel Donadio explored the issue.

From the article:

Your college roommate is on Facebook. So are your cousins and colleagues and friends. But guess who else may find Facebook a great way to stay in touch?

Some people in Sicily who know a few things about networking.

In recent weeks, the Italian authorities have begun investigating Facebook discussion groups devoted to convicted Mafiosi, concerned that some members might be more than fans.

At the same time, a campaign calling on Facebook to remove pro-Mafia pages has been gaining momentum, while thousands of Facebook members have joined new anti-Mafia groups.

The debate spilled over from civil society to online society after recent news reports revealed that more than 2,000 people had joined Facebook interest groups hailing Salvatore Riina, the so-called boss of bosses, known as Totò, who was arrested in 1993 after more than two decades on the run; and his successor, Bernardo Provenzano, arrested in 2006 after four decades in hiding. Both are serving multiple life sentences.

The article goes on to discuss how authorities are concerned that pro-Mafia groups are not only inappropriate, but that social networking might be a potential mode of attracting new recruits to lives of crime. Whether or not this is a legitimate threat is up for debate. However, it does bring up some interesting issues regarding free speech on the Internet. For instance, what is Facebook’s responsibility in monitoring these groups? When does online speech cross from merely inappropriate to illegal? And will someone make a horse head Facebook app now?