EFF sues feds for info on social-network surveillance

The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the CIA, the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and three other government agencies on Tuesday for allegedly refusing to release information about how they are using social networks in surveillance and investigations.

The nonprofit Internet rights watchdog group formally asked more than a dozen agencies or departments in early October to provide records about federal guidelines on the use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr for investigative or data gathering purposes, according to the lawsuit.

The requests were prompted by published news reports about how authorities are using social networks to monitor citizen activities and aid in investigations. For example, according to the lawsuit, government officials have: used Facebook to hunt for fugitives and search for evidence of underage drinking; researched the activities of an activist on Facebook and LinkedIn; watched YouTube to identify riot suspects; searched the home of a social worker because of Twitter messages regarding police actions he sent during the G-20 summit; and used fake identities to trick Facebook users into accepting friend requests.

The EFF needs access to the information to "help inform Congress and the public about the effect of such uses and purposes on citizens' privacy rights and associated legal protections," the lawsuit said.

None of the agencies contacted had complied with the EFF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and only one, the IRS, had asked for an extension, according to the suit.

The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, names the defendants as the CIA, the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury.

The FOIA requests and the lawsuit were filed on behalf of the EFF by the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Government surveillance of citizens, particularly in areas they consider private, should have oversight, said Shane Witnov, a law student who worked on the case for the Samuelson Clinic.

"Social-networking sites are becoming a part of the way we communicate every day and everyone thinks they are sharing information [on the sites] with just their friends," he said. "Governments are using the sites but not in the way [citizens] expect when they sign up."

The government agencies could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Updated 4:55 p.m. PST with comment from Samuelson Clinic law student.

[Thad Boyd]

Well, the government's finally complied with FOIA requests for Iran-Contra, so maybe if we just give it another 20 years...<br /><br />It's a bit of a sticky issue, I suppose -- do privacy rights cover information that is posted publicly? At what point does government surveillance become illegal? I suppose an offline example would be that it's legal to see me leaving my house in the morning but if somebody's watching and recording every time I do it, that's surveillance, not simple observation.<br /><br />I think going so far as to send friend requests in order to access private information qualifies as entrapment, though.

[Renegade Knight]

Public is public. The EFF asked for how the government was using the sites. For example is it my friends list or my friends list + the DOHS who see my info?

[David Dudley]

The EFF is one of the best things this has country has going for it to challenge the government snoops and media folks who would seek to subjugate the masses for their own benefit. This is why I am regular donor to the EFF and all the good they do.

[ErnieTheBear]

If you're doing something that is blatantly illegal and then posting pictures on FaceBook, et al, you should be arrested just for being a moron.

[inachu1]

I am sure the information being used was and is still being used as it always has been. <br />To instill fear in those who speak out against war. <br />I myself spoke with a govt spook online and they got my info wrong way wrong. <br /> <br />So the information they collect is highly suspect to me after proving my data they had as misleading. <br />After all I always put out misleading info about myself online anyway. Google and see if you can reall build a true profile about me. I bet you $100 you can't.

[Renegade Knight]

Line one of my new file on you. <br /> <br />1) The kind to throw out false info to misleaed and misdirect. (True even if you lied about it above...).

[kdjkdj]

One can not claim privacy concerns when one posted that information in a publicly viewable manner.<br /><br />If one deliberately puts out misleading information then one gets and deserves the result of misunderstandings.

[kdjkdj]

One can not claim privacy concerns when one posted that information in a publicly viewable manner.<br /><br />If one deliberately puts out misleading information then one gets and deserves the result of misunderstandings.

[bluemist9999]

If I post information to a site, but set the permissions so only my friends can see it (in theory), is that still public information? I feel that it is not. <br /><br />I agree fully if you are talking about information posted with no access restrictions, which many people do.

[dogboi]

I'm not a lawyer, but I seem to recall that once you involve a third party (say Facebook), information is no longer private, no matter how you set your privacy controls. The "presence" of a third person negates the private communication.

[GeekBoy]

Not true. There is a thing about intercepting private communications, aka wire tapping.

[gangstalking]

While the EFF is at it, maybe they could assess if the privacy of Targeted Individuals are being violated in similar ways while information is gathered. I think some of the topics the EFF cover might cross into areas of Gang Stalking and how individuals are targeted and their online privacy is accessed and invaded. I am not sure how this would be added to the lawsuit, but it would sure make it more interesting. <br /><br />Anyways for those who don't know what Gang Stalking is by now here is a link. http://www.GangStalkingWorld.com

[gangstalking]

The problem with some social networking sites is that their is also speculation, that some such as Facebook, may be used as data aggregates and their is even questions about links to the CIA and other agencies, so it would be truly interesting to find out more about how these agencies are using info from these sites. Is the info ending up in Fusion Centers?

[outforlunch]

ok, you put your stuff on the internet, somebody else is going to see it, period. No matter what. The whole purpose of the internet was to be able to "share" information across a "network" of equipment. <br /> <br />With that said. I think the gov. has just as much right to browse and view profiles as you and I do. That does not give them the right to hack profiles for information without a search warrent. I think if your profile is private, it should act in accordance with the settings you have provisioned for it. I do not think that EFF is going to win it's suit, but, it is a good start to get people thinking and acting. <br /> <br />I think, that if there are not any in place, that laws should be established regarding such matters. That our privacy, even though it is little on the internet, should remain in tact, and follow the same general rules as public law. Your information is "your" information. It should be up to you to decide who has access to your information. Unless an agency has "Probable Cause" and is performing according to "Due Process"

[informed13]

wow the government monitoring public web sites??? the same government that gave themselves retro active immunity for wire tapping peoples private phone conversations and blanket email reading. really?? how can any thinking person believe that a entity doing illegal spying would they not track and trace you do in a public forum??? try searching, cell phones can hear you even when turned off, or police track phone to capture crooks. and to think orwell's warning not only went unheeded, but you give information about your self freely to big brother. in the us we are beginning to look like london in one way i have noticed. and everyone should too, look up next time your anywhere in public!!! how many cameras did you see? and the only time these said cameras malfunction is when the establishment is accused of doing wrong. like the shooting in oakland subway. or countless abuses of power. so to all people of the new computer age , just think all the info you put on any site is definitely being watched buy the government of the corporations, for the corporation, and buy the corporations , because corporations own the government. peace