Senators Want Social Media Firms to Hunt for Terrorists

[marmar]

(The Intercept) An increasing number of the FBI’s terror investigations now start with a post or a tweet. But distinguishing between the huge number of people who talk about terror on social media and the very few actual potential terrorists is a huge challenge for law enforcement.

One thing that could make it even worse, however, would be deputizing social media firms to decide who might be a terrorist and ordering them to send names to the government.

The last thing the FBI needs, experts say, is a deluge of poorly vetted data. And the potential risk to free-speech rights is considerable. Unlike staffers at tech companies feeling pressured to report content about vague “terrorist activity,” FBI agents are trained to recognize the not-always-clear line between constitutionally protected speech and a legitimate threat.

Nevertheless, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Burr, R-N.C. — eager to do something about ISIS’ social media prowess, whether or not it actually makes sense — have reintroduced a previously rejected provision that would force technology companies to report to the government any instances of “terrorist activity” that they notice online. The measure was stripped out of the 2016 intelligence authorization bill in late September; now it’s being proposed as standalone legislation. ...............(more)

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/17/senators-want-social-media-firms-to-hunt-for-terrorists/