US Postal Service Running 'Covert Operations Program' To Spy On Americans' Social Media Posts, Share With Agencies
US Postal Service Running 'Covert Operations Program' To Spy On Americans' Social Media Posts, Share With Agencies
BY TYLER DURDEN WEDNESDAY, APR 21, 2021 - 01:36 PM
The US Postal Service (USPS) has been running a secret program
to track
and collect Americans' social media posts - including
those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News.
The surveillance program - operated by the law enforcement arm of the USPS, is known as iCOP or "Internet Covert Operations Program" - has not been previously made public according to the report.
The work
involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what the
document describes as “inflammatory” postings and then sharing that information
across government agencies. -Yahoo News
"Analysts with the United States Postal
Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored
significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and
domestically on March 20, 2021," reads a government
bulletin dated March 16, marked as "law enforcement sensitive" and
distributed throughout the Department of Homeland Security's fusion centers.
"Locations and times have been identified for these
protests, which are being distributed online across multiple social media
platforms, to include right-wing leaning Parler and
Telegram accounts."
The report cites intelligence that 'a number of groups were
expected to gather in cities around the globe on March 20 as part of a World
Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy' against pandemic lockdown measures.
"Parler users have commented about their intent to use the
rallies to engage in violence. Image 3 on the right is a screenshot from Parler
indicating two users discussing the event as an opportunity to engage in a
‘fight’ and to ‘do serious damage,’" reads the bulletin," though it
hedges with "No intelligence is available to suggest the legitimacy of
these threats."
The bulletin includes screenshots of posts
concerning the protests from Facebook, Parler, Telegram and other social media
sites (only one of which - Parler - was 'canceled' by big tech).
"iCOP
analysts are currently monitoring these social media channels for any potential
threats stemming from the scheduled protests and will disseminate intelligence
updates as needed," reads the bulletin.
Post Office Redacted by Yahoo News
"It's a mystery" said University of Chicago law
professor Geoffrey Stone - who was appointed by President Obama to review the
National Security Agency's bulk data collection program revealed by Edward
Snowden. "I don’t understand why the government would go to the
Postal Service for examining the internet for security issues."
"There are so many other federal agencies
that could do this, I don’t understand why the post office
would be doing it. There is no need for the post office to do it — you’ve got
FBI, Homeland Security and so on, so I don’t know why the post office
is doing this," he added.
The
Postal Service has had a turbulent year, facing financial insolvency and
allegations that its head, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by
President Donald Trump, was slowing down deliveries just as the pandemic vastly
increased the number of mail-in ballots for the 2020 election. Why the post
office would now move into social media surveillance, which would appear to
have little to do with mail deliveries, is unclear.
“This seems a little bizarre,” agreed
Rachel Levinson-Waldman, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s
liberty and national security program. “Based on
the very minimal information that’s available online, it appears that [iCOP] is
meant to root out misuse of the postal system by online actors, which doesn’t
seem to encompass what’s going on here. It’s not at all clear why their mandate
would include monitoring of social media that’s unrelated to use of the postal
system.” -Yahoo News
"If the individuals they’re monitoring are carrying out or
planning criminal activity, that should be the purview of the FBI," said
Levinson-Waldman. "If they’re simply engaging in lawfully protected
speech, even if it’s odious or objectionable, then monitoring them on that
basis raises serious constitutional concerns."
Read the rest of the report here.
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