The latest OpinionWire carries an AP story that says the federal government is searching for software that can scan social media supposedly to “predict the future.”
The story says solicitations posted online reveal how law enforcement and intelligence agencies seek to anticipate terrorist attacks and foreign uprisings by perusing billions of posts from Twitter and other social networks, perhaps even like, oh say I dunno, maybe your Facebook account?
Apparently the FBI has expressed its hope to acquire a digital tool that will scan the full universe of social media – far more than mere mortals could ever review. The story goes on to say the Department of Defense and Director of National Intelligence also are hoping to find similar tools they can use to glean the information.
Naturally, these proposals have generated concerns over privacy. Seems some folks in the United States and elsewhere fear this kind of intensive government monitoring could have a chilling effect on social media users. Ya think?
But fear not citizens. The FBI contends their proposed system will only monitor publicly available information. Oh well, OK. I feel all better now. How about you?
