BitShareThe FBI is building an interactive social media map to better track you
The FBI is expanding their plans for their social media tracking program. The bureau has published a Request For Information from application developers/companies for information on how the FBI can build a flexible program to map out and analyze social media in real-time. No longer does the FBI want to waste their time doing this by hand, they want to automate it, naturally.
A year ago DHS started a program called the Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness Initiative. The initiative tracks sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and YouTube (and others) against keywords and information, so that the government can be alerted when it needs to be for their “situational awareness.” There has been quite a bit of controversy with privacy advocates regarding the monitoring: how it’s obtained, how it’s used and how rights holders can get information about it.
With the new RFI the FBI has published, they plan on building what they call a “Geospacial alert and analysis mapping application.” The RFI says:
The FBI SIOC is conducting this RFI as market research to determine the capability of industry to provide an Open Source and social media alert, mapping, and analysis application solution.
This must be a secure, light weight web application portal, using mash-up technology. The application must have the ability to rapidly assemble critical open source information and intelligence that will allow SIOC to quickly vet, identify, and geo-locate breaking events, incidents and emerging threats. The product must have the capacity to allow the user to retain control of cached and real-time proprietary data; the ability to share it with selected partners, and ultimately enhancing coordination, synchronized-awareness and synergy at the operational level.
In a nutshell, the FBI wants to build a searchable, big ass interactive map that can pinpoint your location when something triggers their alarms or if they come across some suspicious activity. So be careful what you say on Facebook and Twitter. If you say something like “OMG you know that Zombie game, there is a human to animal mutation outbreak in it”, you’re fucked.
