US government backs off social media monitoring

US government backs off social media monitoring

www.newscientist.com

Last week, as I was putting together a story about US government plans to monitor social networks, I came across some strange language in a proposal by the Department of State.
...
The part that jumped out at me was a clause buried in the supporting information. It stated that developers should make "a reasonable effort to exclude Americans from any and all analyses".
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....on 14 June, they withdrew the solicitation. They won't explain why...

(visit the link for the full news article)


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There seems to be some speculation here... but the "guess" the author offers may not be far off from the truth...

I don't know for sure what happened, but here's my guess: the Department of State isn't 100 per cent sure whether it can legally collect information on US citizens. Such activities are governed in part by the Privacy Act, which states that federal agencies cannot maintain records relating to rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. In other words: citizens have the right to complain about governments and religion and many other things, and the department should not record them doing so.

Once again, the First Amendment is an irritating road-block to those in government who extend their feelings of insecurity and fear to the public they are supposed to serve.

For the moment, nothing has really changed. But at the very least, the author's inquiries may have caused someone to actually think through what they were being tasked with and realized... it's not that simple to cast a fishing net into public waters - in the name of protecting the fish.

So at least we can accept the First Amendment as a legitimate protection the politicians are not ready to squelch... yet.

(By the way the article claims the original solicitation is online... perhaps it is... but I think both the original and withdrawal documents have been excised from the web - 404'd as it were)

www.newscientist.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

The more control over people the government can get, the more they will take.

I personally believe they are already spying on us though programs like: Twitter, Facebook Myspace (remember this?), google search, etc.

reply to post by MentorsRiddle


Most assuredly they are. The data is out there... anyone can get it... and governments more than most... especially when they can cite "national security" or "public safety" as a reason for it.

But the blanket "automatic" processing of "free speech" requires more than a solicitation for bids to be legal.

reply to post by Maxmars


They might be saying that, but do you really believe for a second that they will stop spying on us? Look at the facility they are building in Utah......

I really don't know what else to say other than our government is out of control and for anyone to be afraid of the "terrorist boogieman" over the actual terrorist organization sitting in DC is beyond me.....

guberment says they aren't watching us as closely on social media sites. should I believe what they tell me?

Yeah.



This is a sure sign that they already got what they wanted.
"Oh we don't know what line can't be crossed..."
Sure.
I don't buy it.

There are many reasons that huge storage facilities are built.
They are not built to store library books.

Actually, I don't think they have ever stopped spying on us since they got the tap from the major telecos (for which the law was "retroactively" changed so it wouldn't be illegal.) .... Funny that... illegally changing the law... to make an illegal thing legal after it was done illegally.... only OUR politicians could come up with that one!

But I can tell you this, (which you may or may not have already heard, or known) there was a time - in the not-too-distant past when they DIDN'T.

Certain people were charged specifically with ensuring that NO American citizen's communication was EVER used, or even KEPT. It had to be destroyed immediately once it was determined an American citizen's had been inadvertently recorded or identified ... under penalty of law. That meant ANY American... corporations included.....

But that changed.... and it changed well before 9/11.

reply to post by Maxmars


I think we are some years away from government snooping to be legal; if ever.

But I think they have been spying on us since they had the ability too. I think the government would rather beg for forgiveness than ask for persmission, honestly.

They will act, and then if they are found out will use someone as a scape goat and seemingly put a halt to their actions - but the spying will continue when they can find a more covert way of spying.

It is a governing bodies' nature to snoop on its subjects. This has been the case since olden days when they used to send royal spies into marketplaces and the likes to gather public opinion on the ruling body.

Those in power are most afraid of loosing their power, because they understand that their power is only an illusion - it is a position that the majority grant to them of their own free will. The moment that will is removed they will loose their power.

This is a great thread, and I wish it had more of a following right now than it does - because this goes into so much more than social meida monitoring.

reply to post by MentorsRiddle


It is a deeply rooted subject, with some very interesting historical twists... and I think it plays well into the area of social engineering as well....

Using a modified Delphi analysis technique probably yields some interesting information about what the American public really thinks... as opposed to what pollsters and politicians tell the media to report as "what we think."

But of course, most will simply think this is the "same old" "same old" and move on with a "yeah right" mental note... thinking that the political show is more important than what the establishment is actually doing while they spectate.

Originally posted by seeker1963
reply to post by Maxmars

 

They might be saying that, but do you really believe for a second that they will stop spying on us? Look at the facility they are building in Utah......

I really don't know what else to say other than our government is out of control and for anyone to be afraid of the "terrorist boogieman" over the actual terrorist organization sitting in DC is beyond me.....

Don't believe it for a minute... they will spy because they are not held accountable by the justice system or the government. I haven't seen any change just a shift in tactics and processes to gather that info.

The state department may have hit a legal roadblock but that really means nothing.

The NSA and DHS do spy on Americans, it's what they are chartered to do.

Originally posted by METACOMET
The state department may have hit a legal roadblock but that really means nothing.

The NSA and DHS do spy on Americans, it's what they are chartered to do.

edit on 21-6-2012 by METACOMET because: (no reason given)

It was not what the NSA was chartered to do... this change (about "domestic terrorism") came after the glorious monstrosity we call the DHS was empowered to create a corporate foothold in the intelligence community. To my knowledge, NSA never spied on Americans legally... and in my younger days it was known that doing so would destroy your career permanently.

Still, that was then, this is now. If all the corporate world could contract to spy upon were foreigners, there would be almost no profit in it.... since the DoD had that covered.

I hate to sound dorkish - but in the movie X-Men 3 (X3) Magneto says something allong the lines of: "No one ever talks about it... Then in the night they come for you."

That's how this country is looking.

They are slowly pushing into our lives, and collecting data and information.

This will not stop and only get worse.

How do I know this? Because that is what I would do if I had the ability and wanted to take over the world/country.

reply to post by MentorsRiddle


I think we often forget that common wisdom is passed from one to another via very subtle ways.

Some call it the "Fascist creep" or "boiling a frog" .. the baby-steps of authoritarian control... the transmutation of "rights" to "privileges" and then finally to "allotments" and "rewards."

Already people smugly proclaim that "privacy" isn't a right.

Interesting that; I prefer to believe the government doesn't "tell" me what my rights are.. and they are not open for debate. And we don't exist at their pleasure... they exist at ours.

for those who believe the u.s government would let a little thing like the constitution stand in the way of doing what they want ... have I got a deal for you .. beachfront luxury condo's in the gobi cheap ....

dont kid yourselfs the u.s government will continue monitoring the public as it has since the big lie started back in 01 ...

reply to post by Expat888


It's not "the government" that disregards the rules of governing... it's the jerks we convince ourselves are our heroic patriots.

Saying "it's the government" is completely off-target and part of why the problem doesn't get fixed.

For lack of a less idealistic way of putting it... "we are the government!"

Those clowns in the suits and parading around like the are better than us?....
They are our employees....
We must remind them of that meaningfully... but since the Political party that produces them never goes away, we get the same recycled b/s every time we try.

reply to post by Gwampo


Whats that old coined phrase about the govt.. believe nothing until its officially denied?

While I'm sure the infamous "they" are recording anything & everything.. dirt collection... meh, from my experience as a govt employee.. "they" dont much care about random slaves who can cause no harm to the way things are.

If any of you become popular influential leaders... or come across some legit easily verifiable game changing data.. THEN then, they'll start to care. Think "Enemy of the state", a lesson to average folks about crossing "the man" perhaps.

reply to post by Maxmars


So they are really picking up the monitoring of the social media network.

Lets say were doing this when really we are doing that. It is one of the oldest forms of governmental fascism. Those that can be deceived will be deceived.

And it aint even april fools.

IQT QUARTERLY WINTER 2012 Vol. 3 No. 3
Social Media Technolo gies
By Bruce Lund
www.iqt.org...

Governments are increasingly finding that monitoring social media is an essential
component in keeping track of erupting political movements, crises, epidemics,
and disasters, not to mention general global trends.

IQT is InQtel the CIA funding.
www.iqt.org...

Portfolio By Practice Area
In-Q-Tel is focused on new and emerging commercial technologies that have the potential to give the CIA and broader U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) mission-advantage today and in the future. As a strategic partner for the IC we understand complex customer requirements, and we constantly survey the leading edge of the commercial marketplace in order to identify, adapt, and deliver technology solutions to our customers.

From the looks of it they are still hard at work datamining social media.