http://ow.ly/87GGW
An article by Aliya Sternstein posted on thenextgov.com website.
This article discusses a recent lawsuit filed by privacy advocates against the Department of Homeland Security, based on allegations of purportedly illegal social media monitoring.
The article states, "Homeland Security officials have expanded an ongoing initiative that tracks public online communications in the interests of public safety, according a February DHS notice.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center on Tuesday filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act that seeks all government communications with contractors related to the program. The request was prompted by a leak of planning emails from government contractor HB Gary describing project proposals for a private firm to monitor and discredit the online activities of Americans, such as labor union leaders. Other emails in the cache showed that an HB Gary executive was planning a special training session with Homeland Security officials. Hacker activists from the loosely organized collective Anonymous released the communications." A link to the referenced DHS notice, and the lawsuit filed by EPIC are provided in the article.
The article further states, "The DHS program can observe American and foreign private sector officials who make statements online, as well as government officials who communicate publicly, according to the notice. The gleaned information also can be shared with the Justice Department for litigation, or other governmental agencies to respond to disasters and track the spread of disease or other health threats."
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