FOIA lawsuit : DHS monitoring dissent

Well well well... not a big surprise but at least now we've got documents and proof.

EPIC v. Department of Homeland Security: Media Monitoring

EPIC - FOIA Documents Reveal Homeland Security is Monitoring Political Dissent: As the result of EPIC v. DHS, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, EPIC has obtained nearly thee hundred pages of documents detailing a Department of Homeland Security's surveillance program. The documents include contracts and statements of work with General Dynamics for 24/7 media and social network monitoring and periodic reports to DHS. The documents reveal that the agency is tracking media stories that "reflect adversely" on DHS or the U.S. government. One tracking report -- "Residents Voice Opposition Over Possible Plan to Bring Guantanamo Detainees to Local Prison-Standish MI" -- summarizes dissent on blogs and social networking cites, quoting commenters. EPIC sent a request for these documents in April 2004 and filed suit against the agency in December.

So if you say something bad about DHS or spread an article critical of DHS, you are in their reports...this is a MILITARY operation since GD is running it...

And some people still deny the US is a police state. Please.

In February 2011, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the agency planned to implement a program that would monitor media content, including social media data. The proposed initiatives would gather information from "online forums, blogs, public websites, and messages boards"

There really is no expectation of privacy when posting online and to be honest the "police state" mentality does not really work. So if i understand correctly, you can basically sing up and use self tracking and monitoring systems like facebook, where people literally share where they, use GPS to display their location and what they plan to do. So people put crap like this out in the public and then its "big brother" watching you? No, i don't think so. This is retarded people sharing way too much information publicly.

Originally posted by JoshF

In February 2011, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the agency planned to implement a program that would monitor media content, including social media data. The proposed initiatives would gather information from "online forums, blogs, public websites, and messages boards"

There really is no expectation of privacy when posting online and to be honest the "police state" mentality does not really work. So if i understand correctly, you can basically sing up and use self tracking and monitoring systems like facebook, where people literally share where they, use GPS to display their location and what they plan to do. So people put crap like this out in the public and then its "big brother" watching you? No, i don't think so. This is retarded people sharing way too much information publicly.

There is ZERO expectation of privacy whether you post online or not. The NSA's Echelon program goes through every email, fax, picture, and phone call made and flags the "suspicious" ones for review by a human. Unless you encrypt your emails, you might as well be writing them on a bathroom stall door for the world to see.

Every now and then I Google "Midget porn" just to mess with them.

(J/K - I'm not into Little People.)

Originally posted by JoshF

There really is no expectation of privacy when posting online and to be honest the "police state" mentality does not really work. So if i understand correctly, you can basically sing up and use self tracking and monitoring systems like facebook, where people literally share where they, use GPS to display their location and what they plan to do. So people put crap like this out in the public and then its "big brother" watching you? No, i don't think so. This is retarded people sharing way too much information publicly.

Did you even bother to read his post?

The depth of denial in this country is off the charts.

We have a first amendment write to freedom of press. This along with almost every other Constitutional freedom is being encroached upon, circumvented, or outright banished by current legislation such as NDAA and the Patriot Act, Food Moderenization Bill, SOPA/PIPA/ACTA... on and on and on.

Many of the people in Germany were in denial right up until the war was over about the atrocities being carried out. I guess we are no different. It is sad.

Most people will not wake up until they are being hit over the head

I won't stop speaking my mind, or telling the truth because of this. All I have to say about the DHS is that they should be doing their jobs, and protecting our country from the real threats, instead of essentially wasting resources by looking at the wrong people.

Why are they worried about public dissent if they aren't doing anything wrong? Riddle me that one DHS, you ineffective morons.

So what are they exactly monitoring dissent for? Dissent is the highest form of patriotism, I guess a lot of us get points in that regard. This, combined with the FBIs new candidates-for-terrorism list --- which says somebody who uses cash to pay for coffee is suspect --- and the NDAA provision.... unveils a power-grab like no other.

Eventually they'll begin detaining anyone who opposes the Orwellian regime. Grow marijuana and you can go to prison for life. But that's not good enough for them, now they want to ruin the lives of anyone who rejects the tyranny with free speech. They will tell the masses it's to protect America; something so preposterous & psychopathic that only the most fluoridated, brain-dead of sheeple would accept.

They will lose. The elites are either very smart, in that they are purposely pushing humanity's consciousness to evolve. Or they are very naive in thinking they can suppress humanities desire to be free and prosper.

reply to post by OldCorp


Oh, so now your (whatever the right word is prejudiced/racist) against horizontally challenged peoples?

J/K but still had to go there

Yeah, I don't expect privacy when online, in public, or even my own home. My grandpa taught me that whatever you do, you will be watched if not careful. Found out after his death he was in intel during his military service, and I just thought he was paranoid.

Ok, I think that privacy expectations are not even the issue.

No, I don't expect privacy when i am on twitter.

However, I live in a (supposed) democratic republic, where people's votes are supposed to determine the direction of our politics.

IF, said political aparatus USES public funds to monitor POLITICAL activity to keep the politics from CHANGING or CHALLENGING - that's not cool at all.

This report is one thing - and it alarms me. I don't think it is cool. However, if it could be shown that the govt is going further and trying to INFLUENCE politics by acting on the data - that, to me, is completely out of bounds.

That's like a big block of viral code setting up a rootkit in the system to me. It's improper and damaging to the integrity of our political system - the VERY thing most of those agencies are supposedly protecting.

Originally posted by calnorak
reply to post by OldCorp

 

Oh, so now your (whatever the right word is prejudiced/racist) against horizontally challenged peoples?

J/K but still had to go there

Yeah, I don't expect privacy when online, in public, or even my own home. My grandpa taught me that whatever you do, you will be watched if not careful. Found out after his death he was in intel during his military service, and I just thought he was paranoid.

No, not prejudiced just tall. It would be... Awkward.

I combed over those documents pretty good, and I believe what they are doing is not necessarily all that bad. They have conceded that they cannot get local information any faster than social networks like twitter can deliver it. And they want this information to feed into a managed, overall operational strategy- that takes into account everything else going on in the country too. They are effectively triaging operational limitations.

They were specific which networks to monitor to the Guardians (and guess what, ATS is not on the list), and are interested only in the facts- to the point they even provided examples of where to cut speculation from the reports. In a case of widespread natural disaster, for example, they have to make decisions about where to send resources.

I don't know guys, I think you need to get in there and read. They are tasked with providing security, and this part of it I am not so worried about. Things like the TSA and force feeding people through groping and cancer machines though is over the top bad.

There also appears to be a real concern for cost savings embedded. I don't think most of you commenting have actually been into those documents much.

Realistically, I don't expect privacy when I go on public forums, where anyone can read what I write. What I DO expect is the freedom to criticize a government that's doing a terrible job of running this country, without them misinterpreting and twisting my words to make me out a "terrorist". They are like scared little boys seeing bullies everywhere. Are there people in the world who want to hurt the U.S.? Obviously. But, it's not the average joe and that's who is taking the brunt of their "War On Terror". Fear and Control. That should be the DHS motto.