The United States Secret Service is set to purchase
software that can track Twitter users in real time, prompting concerns
that individuals could face greater harassment over tweets deemed to be
threatening or anti-government.
The software will also have the capability to “send
notifications to users,” suggesting that the Secret Service intends to
directly address Twitter users who are deemed to have tweeted something
unsavory.
There have been numerous instances where Twitter users
have been harassed by the Secret Service after making anti-Obama or
anti-government statements that could not be construed as threatening.
The Secret Service’s acquisition of more sophisticated tracking software
will only serve to make these incidents more common.
The Secret Service admitted that they couldn’t identify a
single post by Francois that could be deemed threatening to the
President.
In January, a Florida Republican running for the state assembly also received a Secret Service visit after he tweeted that Barack Obama should be arrested, impeached and hanged.
“A couple of years ago, the Homeland Security Department, the agency’s parent, got in trouble with lawmakers and civil liberties groups for a social media program that would work, in part, by having employees create fake usernames and profiles to spy on other users,” reports NextGov.“A House Homeland Security Committee panel called DHS officials into a hearing after reports the department tasked analysts with collecting data that reflected negatively on the government, such as content about the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to a Michigan jail. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has sued DHS for more information on the program.”
The Department of Homeland Security has recently
intensified its efforts to keep track of what users are tweeting in
order to monitor public sentiment and media narratives.
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