The Biden administration has been quietly deploying and expanding programs to conduct surveillance on what people say on social media.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in an article published on its website that the Biden administration is using tools that allow US government agents and analysts to invisibly monitor the vast amount of protected speech that occurs online.
“For years, these kinds of tools have been increasingly used for a range of controversial law enforcement and intelligence purposes. But some of the most troubling programs continuously monitor the social media posts of non-citizens to decide who gets to live, study, or stay in the United States,” said the report.
“Given the trove of information available online, social media surveillance threatens our rights to speak freely and live without fear of constant government scrutiny,” it noted.
Through ongoing lawsuit, the ACLU has obtained documents showing that a wide range of government agencies are monitoring and retaining the speech of U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike, whether or not those individuals are suspected of any criminal wrongdoing, it said.
“Agencies continue to pour millions of dollars into technology that enables this sustained tracking of social media activity,” it added.
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