 |
| USA wants to analyze social media platforms |
The Department of Homeland Security may not be able to rely solely on internal systems to detect extremist threats through social media platforms. The ministry plans to hire private companies to analyze public platforms and look for warning signs of extremist violence.
This sparked a debate within the agency about how to monitor such threats while protecting the civil liberties of Americans.
This work is still under discussion, has not yet received approval or funding, and may involve filtering large amounts of Internet traffic to identify online accounts that may provide evidence of the evolution of attacks, whether internal or external.
The initiative came after the country's intelligence services failed to identify and share the threat indicators that prompted Donald Trump supporters to attack the US Capitol on January 6.
John Cohen, a senior DHS official, is leading the project, which he described as part of an upgrade of the department's social media analytics capabilities.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cohen told The Wall Street Journal that harnessing expertise from outside companies and improving internal capacity are at the heart of this business. We are now talking about significantly expanding our scope.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating how companies are recruited to search social media for signs of impending terrorism and other violent extremism.
Cohen said the department has previously looked at social media. However, external partners are very helpful in expanding these efforts.
Discussions about a full investigation surfaced on social media for the first time in May. But there are few details about how it works.
USA wants to analyze social media platforms
Rumor has it that the Department of Homeland Security is focusing on troubling trends rather than personal goals, such as the emergence of extremist movements or threats against certain communities.
The goal is to understand the violent commentary behind the incident, such as the January 6 riots at the Capitol. The Department of Homeland Security did not expect this. Despite the increase in social media activity.
One of the companies involved in the discussion is Logically, a company that combines artificial intelligence and human analytics to track online content at scale.
She was already involved in the government's efforts to combat disinformation during the vote. But here she can use publicly available social media to discover problems.
Cohen said the administration would not use these companies to obtain information they were not allowed to see. Sources in the newspaper said officials are determined to protect civil liberties.
Logically's CEO said his company cannot share personal information of Americans without a court ruling.
However, some fear that the Department of Homeland Security may misuse this private analysis. In theory, it could store content and use the data to track down unrelated criminal cases or against peaceful political opponents.
This will deter people from talking about certain topics on public channels, undermining freedom of expression. Even if there was no mention of violent intent.