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posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 15 2019, @10:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the broader-picture dept.

Submitted via IRC for AnonymousLuser

The FBI plans more social media surveillance

The FBI wants to gather more information from social media. Today, it issued a call for contracts for a new social media monitoring tool. According to a request-for-proposals (RFP), it's looking for an "early alerting tool" that would help it monitor terrorist groups, domestic threats, criminal activity and the like.

The tool would provide the FBI with access to the full social media profiles of persons-of-interest. That could include information like user IDs, emails, IP addresses and telephone numbers. The tool would also allow the FBI to track people based on location, enable persistent keyword monitoring and provide access to personal social media history. According to the RFP, "The mission-critical exploitation of social media will enable the Bureau to detect, disrupt, and investigate an ever growing diverse range of threats to U.S. National interests."

But a tool of this nature is likely to raise a few red flags, despite the FBI's call for "ensuring all privacy and civil liberties compliance requirements are met." The government doesn't have the best track record with regard to social media surveillance. Early this year, the ACLU sued the government over its use of social media surveillance of immigrants, and the Trump administration has proposed allowing officials to snoop on the social media accounts of Social Security disability recipients.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday July 15 2019, @04:02PM (8 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Monday July 15 2019, @04:02PM (#867221)

    The concern, as I understand it, has little to do with illegal activities being displayed on social media (although what kinda moron announces their crimes in an open public forum?).

    The concern is that the FBI might go after somebody for completely 100% legal activities displayed on social media. The FBI has done so throughout its entire history as an agency, and there's no particular reason to think that they'd stop now. What is illegal and what gets the FBI's attention are somewhat overlapping but definitely not identical sets of activities: For instance, they treated Occupy Wall Street as a criminal conspiracy even though for the most part they obeyed the law, and meanwhile Jeffrey Epstein was running around raping kids and they did nothing about it.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 15 2019, @04:20PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 15 2019, @04:20PM (#867228) Journal

    So, you seem to agree that a bit of circumspection might be in order? Or, is that circumcision? Either way, there's really no need to show your stuff off to everyone. https://orig00.deviantart.net/3885/f/2016/138/4/d/circumspection_by_ak_is_harmless-da2y1w1.jpg [deviantart.net]

    • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Thexalon on Monday July 15 2019, @05:19PM

      by Thexalon (636) on Monday July 15 2019, @05:19PM (#867247)

      The FBI doesn't care about naked pictures. They do care about political activities, though.

      For example, the Anthony Wiener a.k.a. Carlos Danger scandal cropped up shortly after then-Congressman Wiener was doing some investigations into the activities of three-letter agencies including the FBI. Coicidence? I doubt it.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15 2019, @05:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15 2019, @05:10PM (#867242)

    what kinda moron announces their crimes in an open public forum?

    Trump.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15 2019, @10:40PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15 2019, @10:40PM (#867354)

    That's not really the concern.

    The concern is 'guilt by association', as well as keeping data forever.

    John protests something. The FBI, with its immense network of data on people, knows you know John. They start watching YOU. Following your movements, etc. This has a 'chilling effect', where people soon learn to fear being associated with 'bad apples'.

    Even if it's just about a mild protest.

    It causes people to fear speaking out.

    This sort of activity can be extended. In Canada, we had our own version of "communists". The McCarthy Hearings in the US were at least public, even though they were an embarrassment to democracy. In Canada?

    It was *far* worse. You ended up on a list. If on said the list, the RCMP would show up at potential job sites, and mention that "you're really not a good guy". People went through their entire lives, feeling "dirty", but not even knowing why -- because they were on a 'secret list'. In was so bad, that the RCMP's division responsible, was disbanded leading to the formation of CSIS.

    Now -- take that further. Not only are you associated with John, now YOU are hounded. And these things were done in the 60s, where lists, data, and more was *hand compiled*! Imagine how such a situation would be today! With the data available today!

    Further; invasion. For example, in WWII Norway was invaded by Germany/The Nazis. Norway, not really caring about Jewish or Not, had lists in town halls. EG, 'what is your religion'. Why?

    Well, so you could be buried in the right cemetery, which is what people wanted! This wasn't forced, Catholics wanted to be by Catholics, Jews by Jews, etc. It was simply meant to give a person their dying wish .. where to be buried.

    But the Nazis found said lists, and used those lists to haul people away. There was no way to hide.

    Now imagine an invasion today. Imagine if someone wants to take info, and use it to find the most loyal, most skilled people that might give you trouble in your newly occupied country. Yeah. Great.

    Or imagine foreign powers hack said lists. Now you can find means to have domestically planted people, or even just loyalists (paid or otherwise), reduce the ability for those loyal to the state to succeed.

    There are 1000 ways that such data can be misused. Ways that it can be used by enemies, to harm instead of help.

    Also, re: communists / Canada, "The UnCanadians" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP2hBXFxqY0 [youtube.com] is a video, from the book. And this isn't made up, all of this has been open for study, it's well known.

    • (Score: 1) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Tuesday July 16 2019, @06:54PM

      by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Tuesday July 16 2019, @06:54PM (#867659) Journal

      If you want to control a population, you only really have to round up:

      -all the most intelligent people
      -all the most knowl;edgeable people
      -all the best communicators
      -all the most inspiring artists

      Then you are left with essentially a herd of obedient slaves.

      So, with facegag, they can literally take over an entire society by ruining the lives of the top 1% of the 99%.

      This is what Organic Intellectual means, that you don't jump out of the 99% to help the 1% herd the population.

      This is what makes Snowden a hero and the people working at the NSA and FBI's anti-constitutional forces into stooges. They are essentially hired by the wealthy to keep Mar A Lago safe for the Epsteins to rape.

      This is what the novel 1984 is about, will Winston keep doing his job even though he knows it is evil, or will he work against the machine even if it risks pain? We are not there yet, but we are within arms distance. That you have to post this anon is a sign, that I am being followed in the bus on a regular basis, is a sign.

      Pass the word. It could make a bigger difference right now than maybe ever.

  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday July 16 2019, @12:30AM (1 child)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Tuesday July 16 2019, @12:30AM (#867382) Journal

    The problems with mass surveillance are bigger than what law enforcement has done and may do again. For instance, the Red Scare and McCarthyism of the 1950s originated from the fearmongering that the likes of the infamous Senator McCarthy engaged in. Racism has of course been an ongoing problem since before the Civil War. Law enforcement's role in these things is relatively limited. They are only a tool, and one that frequently causes embarrassment to their unscrupulous users and masters.

    I often wonder how things might have gone down if Occupy Wall Street had definitive work for law enforcement, instead of viewing the police as merely tools of the enemy. If OWS had a list of suspected white collar criminals for police to arrest, and communicated this and other sensible orders to the police, along with powerful reminders that their ultimate bosses are the people, not a small gang of corrupt machine politicians, and the protestors made it crystal clear that they weren't interested in wanton destruction and vandalism, or other clearly illegal acts, the police might have been persuaded to switch sides. At the least, the crowds should have moved much more, and left the police manning useless barricades in front of empty streets.

    MLK was a genius at playing law enforcement and racists for a bunch of fools and liars. Got them to majorly overreact, with copy too good for the drama eating media to pass up, especially in Selma. Totally wrecked the plausible deniability they had been using to minimize and dismiss their own misdeeds. But OWS did not have that kind of vision, and so the rich were able to disparage the entire movement as disorganized and unfocused, and continue to think of the majority of humanity as stupid and inferior to themselves.

    • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday July 16 2019, @01:08AM

      by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday July 16 2019, @01:08AM (#867390)

      I often wonder how things might have gone down if Occupy Wall Street had definitive work for law enforcement, instead of viewing the police as merely tools of the enemy.

      The police were illegally pepper-spraying, assaulting, and arresting protesters for the heinous crime of walking down a street with signs chanting slogans starting on day 1. The protests came to an end when the police illegally beat up and robbed everybody camped in the park, while illegally detaining elected officials who were attempting to get to the scene and observe what was happening. I'm not sure exactly why you think that wouldn't have happened if the protesters had just been nicer or more reasonable or law-abiding, because the police response wasn't nice, reasonable, or law-abiding.

      In general, protests that have the approval of police aren't real protests, because at least in the US the police will invariably attack protesters who are saying things that they or their bosses don't want to hear.

      --
      The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Tuesday July 16 2019, @06:48PM

    by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Tuesday July 16 2019, @06:48PM (#867653) Journal

    Your comment is accurate, I am a victim of this.

    I left the united states at the beginning of 2018 for my own safety, and if I were to tell you my experiences here there is no way you would believe there are that many undercovers and someone who has never been accused of a crime can experience east german stasi style zersetzung.

    I read a lot of things that say 'it is probably happening' but I know it is happening and I know a lot of how at least a lot of it works.

    I am concerned that they may just kill me rather than my story ever getting out, but after you have hundreds of these experiences over decades, and then you leave the country and they still don't charge you with anything on the way out, it is so woven into your character that to be silent about it is a form of self-harm.

    And I actually like the good things about america and I believe these people are destroying it, and I can't figure out their motive, becaseu it is not to preserve the constitution.

    If anyone finds this, check out my website and if you can believe that I am sane and not a cop myself, contact me and help me tell my story.

    It will scare you. They have to be doing this to other people, and since it pushed me to the brink, there are probably a hell of a lot of people who don't make it.

    So you are correct, and it is much, much worse than you state here, and I now believe they are starting to engineer society through covert activity in high school.

    But if you only believe one thing, if you are politically active at all or are intelligent or highly skilled in any way that might alter their simulations, they can make it so any of your uses of the major platforms including dating sites and craigslist roommate ads, will exclusively put you in contact with undercover police who want to f*ck your life up. Not like you will encounter some police and some normal people, but that the only response you get will be a cop, and they will try to bait you into a crime that will discredit you for life, and separate you from everyone who cares about you. And not for a few months, your entire life.

    It is scary, you should be scared, I am scared.

    But as for me, I am not descended from fearful men and the result of people like me being silent is that they will win, and the entire world will be imprisoned, or worse.

    i'd rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave. - Jimmy Cliff