The implications of government monitoring of social media

The government’s plans to read our private electronic mail is cause for concern, IAN MACLEOD writes.

The federal government tracks Canadians’ social media comments and other content, including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, chat rooms, message boards, social networks and video and image sharing websites.

The admission came Friday after a tender call was posted by Public Works seeking round-the-clock, “real-time monitoring and analysis of social media content,” with the ability to “target key influencers found in blog commentary and social conversations.”

The department later issued a statement defending the activity and explaining it already monitors social media as part the government’s general media monitoring.

But given that social media “is a unique field that continues to grow, (Public Works) issued a separate request for supply arrangements so that specialized firms can compete for this work.” The proposed fiveyear deal will be limited to Canadian firms.

News of the government’s expansion in the vast, individualized and intimate social media arena is raising red flags.

“It might all be quite benign, but who knows these days?” said Tom Quiggin, a security and intelligence expert.

“Governments are working increasingly hard to control the political narrative and public discussions. As a society and as taxpayers, we need to start asking about how much of our taxpayers’ money do we want to spend so that government can monitor virtually every public conversation and idea we have.

“Will you feel free to post or discuss matters in a public forum when an unaccountable and unknown bureaucrat can then determine if you are an ‘influencer’ who needs further targeting?” Who uses this information and under what circumstances?

Federal government departments and agencies on an “as and when requested” basis.

Why is it useful?

It is “how departments monitor and analyze the public environment as it relates to their policies, programs, services and initiatives,” a Public Works spokesman said in an email. “They use a variety of tools including citizen feedback, media monitoring and opinion research.” What specific skills does the government want with this contract?

Instant, up-to-the-minute or “real time” analysis; ability to apply country and language parameters to search results; ability to graphically illustrate demographics, geographies and trends; digital tracking of issues based on specific key words; ability to target key influencers found in blog commentary and social conversations; ability to illustrate and analyze positive, neutral or negative tones; capacity to perform historical searches and analysis back a minimum of 30 days; region, and demographics of citizens, stakeholders and online journalists. Why are privacy advocates and others concerned?

They worry the confluence of the Internet, social media, mobile digital technologies, post-9/11 security fears and significant advances in fields such as facial recognition biometrics and data mining enables surveillance to flow almost imperceptibly through our lives. Are there apprehensions about how online information harvested from social media monitoring and other sources can be used for other purposes?

Yes. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration last year gathered together large integrated computer companies and information technology firms to discuss the concept of using vast amounts of commercial data on individuals to prescreen air travellers to speed up physical screening at U.S. airports.

Police have been doing the same for years. The RCMP began buying and storing personal information from commercial data brokers following the 9/11 attacks.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has been considering following the Department of Homeland Security by adopting automated technology to monitor Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites for the use of dozens of “suspicious” keywords such as “al-Qaida” and “attack” to not-so-obvious utterances such as “initiate” and “pork.”