Tech

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram disconnect users from police monitoring tool

Published

8 years ago

October 12, 2016

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram disconnect users from police monitoring tool

Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are cutting ties with a social media surveillance company after a report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claimed it was being used by the police to target protesters.

Digital Trends reported in April that Geofeedia — a social media mapping tool that analyzes geotagged messages on the aforementioned platforms — was receiving funds through the CIA’s venture capital firm, In-Q-Tel, in light of a report by The Intercept.

Now, the ACLU claims it has uncovered documents in which Geofeedia touts the “special access” it has to user data thanks to its “arrangements” with the leading social networks.

This is despite the fact that all three social media companies have policies in place that prohibit developers from selling user data for the purposes of surveillance.

As a result of Geofeedia’s marketing efforts, law enforcement in Oakland and Baltimore have used its tool to monitor protests, and target activist groups considered “overt threats,” according to the ACLU.

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