Feds Tracked Online Sites for Evil Plots

Before inauguration, DHS kept tabs on Facebook, others
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 13, 2010 6:19 PM CDT
Feds Tracked Online Sites for Evil Plots
You just never know who's watching.   (Shutterstock)

The Department of Homeland Security monitored the social network postings of millions of Americans during the Obama inauguration, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has found. DHS set up a “Social Networking Monitoring Center” that kept tabs on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, DailyKos, and NPR, looking for potential conspiracies to harm the then president-elect or other "items of interest."

Documents disclosed in an FOIA lawsuit filed by the EFF suggest that DHS compiled detailed profiles on individuals based on their connection to the inauguration or related events. While the DHS says it washed “Personally Identifiable Information” from the data it collected, it notes that "openly divulged information excluding PII will be used for future corroboration purposes and trend analysis during the Inauguration period.” Well then.
(More Department of Homeland Security stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X