A division of the US Postal Service investigating illegal postal activity has quietly implemented a program that monitors Americans’ social media posts, according to a government document published by Yahoo News.
The Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP), part of the USPS law enforcement division, is one of seven groups dealing with cybercrime, according to the US Postal Inspection Service, which says it focuses on using the mail to trade on facilitate the black market and other illegal activities related to drugs, fraud and violent crime. But that description omits to mention that the group also follows social media sites for “incendiary” posts, including posts about planned protests.
“Analysts from the United States Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activities related to planned protests internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021,” said a March 16 government bulletin. that was marked “law enforcement sensitive” and distributed by the Department of Homeland Security. “Locations and times have been set for these protests, which are spread online across multiple social media platforms, including right-wing Parler and Telegram accounts.”
The bulletin appears to be referring to marches around the World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy, when protesters around the world protested the coronavirus blocking.
Parler users have commented on their intention to use the demonstrations to commit violence. Figure 3 on the right is a screenshot from Parler showing that two users are discussing the event as an opportunity to participate in a ‘fight’ and “cause serious harm,” the bulletin said, noting that “there is no information available to suggest the legitimacy of these threats.”
The bulletin features screenshots of posts from Facebook, Parler and Telegram, including a post from an alleged member of the Proud Boys.
“iCOP analysts are currently monitoring these social media outlets for potential threats from the planned protests and will distribute information updates as needed,” the bulletin said.
Post Office published by Yahoo News
Civil liberties experts expressed concern about the Post’s collection of social media posts.
“I don’t understand why the government would go to the postal service to investigate the Internet for security issues,” said Geoffrey Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago who was appointed by former President Barack Obama to create the National Security’s metadata collection. Agency to review told Yahoo News.
“This seems a bit bizarre,” added Rachel Levinson-Waldman, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Freedom and National Security Program. “Based on the very minimal information available online, it turns out [iCOP] aims to eradicate abuse of the postal system by online actors, which does not seem to include what is happening here. It is not at all clear why their mandate would include social media monitoring that has nothing to do with the use of the postal system. “
Levinson-Waldman also questioned the legality of the program.
“If the individuals they follow are carrying out or planning any criminal activity, that should be the job of the FBI,” she said. “If they are simply engaging in lawfully protected speech, even if it is detestable or reprehensible, then monitoring them on that basis raises serious constitutional concerns.”
The USPIS told Yahoo News its mission is “to protect the US Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers; to enforce the laws that defend the national postal system against illegal or dangerous use; and to promote the public’s trust in to insure the post “.
“The Internet Covert Operations Program is a function within the US Postal Inspection Service that assesses threats to employees of the postal service and its infrastructure by monitoring publicly available open source information,” the USPIS said in a statement, adding that it is collaborating with other law enforcement officers. agencies to “identify and assess potential threats to the postal service, its employees and customers, and its overall mail handling and transportation network.”
The report noted that the USPIS is not the only body monitoring social media posts in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
“We know this threat is mainly fueled by false stories, conspiracy theories and extremist rhetoric read through social media and other online platforms,” a Department of Homeland Security official told reporters during a recent press call. “And that’s why we’re starting the engagement directly with social media companies.”
The official added that the department is working with “civil rights and civil liberties colleagues, as well as our private colleagues, to ensure that everything we do is done responsibly and in accordance with civil and civil liberties rights and individual privacy. . “
Stone said other agencies are better equipped to handle such surveillance than the USPIS.
“I just don’t think the postal service has the level of sophistication you would want if you were dealing with these kinds of national security issues,” he told Yahoo News. That is a mystery. There are so many other federal agencies that could do this, I don’t understand why the post office would do it. The post office doesn’t have to do it – you have an FBI, Homeland Security and so on, so I don’t know why the post office is doing this. ‘
The report comes amid growing debate about the value, legality and necessity of social media surveillance. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the FBI and federal law enforcement agencies for missing or failing to respond to public calls for violence in the Capitol on social media platforms ahead of the Jan. 6 riot.
“This information, which was clearly visible on the Internet before Jan. 6, paints a clear picture of a planned and coordinated violent attack,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I., told NBC News. “It’s important to understand how much the FBI and DOJ knew about this, when they knew it, and how they decided which pieces of information warranted action.”
The FBI field office in Norfolk, Virginia, warned Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police on Jan. 5 that online extremists going to Washington were prepared for “war.” But the intelligence had not been “fully vetted,” acting police chief Robert Contee said at a recent congressional hearing. Neither Contee nor then Capitol Chief Steven Sund saw the bulletin.
The FBI and the Justice Department have emphasized that such intelligence is not often feasible and that many reports are anonymous.
But since the Jan. 6 attack, the FBI has relied on social media posts to track down hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol. The FBI has tracked down an alleged rioter using facial recognition technology who found a photo of him on his girlfriend’s Instagram page, HuffPost reported Wednesday. According to The Washington Post, researchers have also used license plate readers and cell tower location records to track down the insurgents.
The use of social media and facial recognition has alarmed some civil liberty groups.
“Whenever you see this technology being used by someone you don’t like, remember it’s also being used for a social movement that you support,” said Evan Greer, director of the digital rights advocacy group, Fight for the Future. to The Washington Post. “Occasionally, this technology is used for really bad people doing really bad things. But the rest of the time it’s used for all of us in a way that is terribly chilling for the freedom of speech.”