Social Media Surveillance by Law Enforcement Raises Concerns

Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are expanding their surveillance reach by closely monitoring social media activity. However, this move, aimed at enhancing situational awareness, seems to be causing more fractures than fixes due to its overreaching scope and potential infringement on civil liberties, particularly within minority communities.

Controversial Surveillance Practices

Recent instances, such as DHS bulletins on racial justice protests and the Boston Police Department's labeling of Muslim-related online speech as extremist, have illustrated the intrusive nature of these practices. Further, internal assessments like those from the DHS General Counsel's office have questioned the effectiveness of such widespread monitoring, finding the information gathered to be of limited value.

Questionable Utility and Continued Use

The Biden administration has reviewed Trump-era policies that mandated visa applicants to submit social media handles, a practice deemed to add 'no value' to the vetting processes by intelligence officials. Despite the lack of evidence supporting the security benefits of social media surveillance, the practice continues with the retention of collected data.

Generative AI Technologies: A New Challenge

The advent of generative AI technologies poses a further challenge by enabling the creation of more convincing fake online profiles for surveillance, thus raising issues related to undercover informants. Current social media surveillance tools are under scrutiny for their lack of scientific methodology and potential bias. There is concern that generative AI could exacerbate these issues. Furthermore, generative AI could contribute to the spread of misinformation online, as seen with the false political news and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regulation and Guidelines

The Biden administration's AI executive order and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) draft memorandum on AI usage underscore the necessity for transparency, efficacy testing, and mitigation of bias in AI tools. However, these guidelines currently do not extend to national security, intelligence uses, or police departments, leaving a significant gap in the management of these powerful tools and practices.