epic - epic v. department of homeland security: media monitoring

8/3/2019 EPIC - EPIC v. Department of Homeland Security: Media Monitoring

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EPIC v. Department of Homeland Security: Media Monitoring

Focusing public attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues

Seeking Disclosure of Records Detailing the Department of Homeland Security's Medi

Monitoring Activities

Top News |

EPIC's FOIA Request |

EPIC's FOIA Lawsuit |

FOIA Documents |

Litigation Documents|

Background

EPIC is pursuing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of HomelanSecurity for information about the agency's surveillance of social networks and new

organizations.

In February 2011, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the agency planned t

implement a program that would monitor media content, including social media data. Th

proposed initiatives would gather information from "online forums, blogs, public websites, an

messages boards" and disseminate information to "federal, state, local, and foreign governmen

and private sector partners." The program would be executed, in part, by individuals wh

established fictitious usernames and passwords to create covert social media profiles to spy oother users. The agency stated it would store personal information for up to five years.

Top News

EPIC - FOIA Documents Reveal Homeland Security is Monitoring Political Dissent: As th

result of EPIC v. DHS, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, EPIC has obtained nearly the

hundred pages ofdocuments detailing a Department of Homeland Security's surveillanc

program. The documents include contracts and statements of work with General Dynami

for 24/7 media and social network monitoring and periodic reports to DHS. The documenreveal that the agency is tracking media stories that "reflect adversely" on DHS or the U.

government. One tracking report -- "Residents Voice Opposition Over Possible Plan t

Bring Guantanamo Detainees to Local Prison-Standish MI" -- summarizes dissent on blog

and social networking cites, quoting commenters. EPIC sent a request for these documen

in April 2004 and filed suit against the agency in December. For more information, see EPIC

EPIC v. Department of Homeland Security: Media Monitoring. (Jan. 13, 2012)

EPIC Sues DHS Over Covert Surveillance of Facebook and Twitter : EPIC has filed

Freedom of information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to forc


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disclosure of the details of the agency's social network monitoring program. In news repor

and a Federal Register notice, the DHS has stated that it will routinely monitor the publ

postings of users on Twitter and Facebook. The agency plans to create fictitious us

accounts and scan posts of users for key terms. User data will be stored for five years an

shared with other government agencies.The legal authority for the DHS program remain

unclear. EPIC filed the lawsuit after the DHS failed to reply to an April 2011 FOIA reques

For more information, see EPIC: Social Networking Privacy. (Dec. 20, 2011)

EPIC's FOIA Request

In April 12, 2011, EPIC submitted a FOIA request to the DHS seeking agency records detailing th

media monitoring program.The request sought the following documents:

All contracts, proposals, and communications between the federal government and thir

parties, including, but not limited to, H.B. Gary Federal, Palantir Technologies, and/o

Berico Technologies, and/or parent or subsidiary companies, that include provision

concerning the capability of social media monitoring technology to capture, storaggregate, analyze, and/or match personally-identifiable information.

All contracts, proposals, and communications between DHS and any states, localities, tribe

territories, and foreign governments, and/or their agencies or subsidiaries, and/or an

corporate entities, including but not limited to H.B. Gary Federal, Palantir Technologie

and/or Berico Technologies, regarding the implementation of any social media monitorin

initiative.

All documents used by DHS for internal training of staff and personnel regarding soci

media monitoring, including any correspondence and communications between DH

internal staff and personnel, and/or privacy officers, regarding the receipt, use, and/implementation of training and evaluation documents.

All documents detailing the technical specifications of social media monitoring softwar

and analytic tools, including any security measures to protect records of collecte

information and analysis.

All documents concerning data breaches of records generated by social media monitorin

technology.

Noting the extraordinary public interest in the plan and the public's right to comment on th

measures, EPIC asked the DHS to expedite the processing of its request.

On April 28, 2011, the agency acknowledged receipt of EPIC's FOIA request, but denied th

request for expedited processing and did not make any substantive determination regarding th

FOIA request. The DHS did not disclose any records in response to EPIC's FOIA request. On Ma

18, 2011, EPIC appealed the DHS's failure to make a timely substantive determination as well a

the agency's denial of EPIC's expedited processing request. The DHS failed to respond to EPIC

administrative appeal and failed to disclose any records.


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EPIC's FOIA Lawsuit

On December 20, 2011, EPIC filed a lawsuit against the DHS to compel the disclosure

documents relating to the agency's media monitoring program.

In January 2012, the DHS disclosed 285 pages of agency records in response to EPIC's FOI

lawsuit.

FOIA Documents

EPIC's FOIA request and lawsuit forced disclosure of the following records concerning the DHS

media monitoring program:

January 2012 Disclosure - 285 pages (including contracts, price estimates, Privacy Impa

Assessment, and communications concerning DHS Media Monitoring program)

anuary 2012 Disclosure

EPIC's FOIA lawsuit forced the DHS to disclose 285 pages of records. The documents includ

contracts, price estimates, Privacy Impact Assessment, and communications concerning DH

Media Monitoring program. These records make public, for the first time, details of the DHS

efforts to spy on social network users and journalists.

The records reveal that the DHS is paying General Dynamics to monitor the news. The agenc

instructed the company to monitor for "[media] reports that reflect adversely on the U.

Government, DHS, or prevent, protect, respond government activities."

The DHS is attempting to "capture public reaction to major government proposals."

The DHS instructed the social media monitoring company to generate "reports on DH

Components, and other Federal Agencies: positive and negative reports on FEMA, CIA, CBP, IC

etc. as well as organizations outside the DHS."


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One of the example social network monitoring summaries is titled "Residents Voice Oppositio

Over Possible Plan to Bring Guantanamo Detainees to Local Prison-Standish MI." The repo

summarizes dissent on blogs and social networking cites, quoting commenters.

The DHS instructed the company to "Monitor public social communications on the Internet." Th

records list the websites that will be monitored, including the comments sections of [The NeYork Times, The Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, the Drudge Report, Wired, and AB

News.]"


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Pre-Litigation Documents

EPIC's FOIA Request, Apr. 12, 2011

Litigation Documents

EPIC v. DHS, Civ. Action No. 11-02261 (D.D.C.)

EPIC's Complaint Against the DHS, Dec. 20, 2011, Civ. Action No. 11-02261 (D.D.C.)

News Items

Federal Security Program Monitored Public Opinion , Charlie Savage, NY Times, Jan. 1

2012

Privacy Group Sues DHS Over Social Media Monitoring Program, FOX News, Dec. 24, 201

Which Keywords on Twitter Get the Governments Attention?, The Blaze, Dec. 28, 2011.

epic.org

http://epic.org/foia/epic-v-dhs-media-monitoring/

http://goo.gl/ffgS