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Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

theintercept.com

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Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#21

Post by tdb7893 »

lenerdenator wrote: post #6

Is this really surprising to anyone? If you're out in public and using public websites to organize protests, it's a given that data will be mined about that. The trick is to make it unattractive for those doing the enforcing to act upon their analysis of that data.

I think that while not surprising it's still interesting and useful to know exactly how they are doing it and what tools they are using. In the US protests are a constitutionally protected right and visibility into how they are monitoring and reacting to them is important.

Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#25

Post by nickff »

unethical_ban wrote: post #13
jeffbee wrote: post #7

It is not "surveillance" when the cops see your tweets.

Does surveillance need to be covert? Historically, if the police are observing you or your event specifically, that's surveillance.

I mostly agree with you, but there’s a difference between using a non-covert method of communication like telephone or SMS, and a social media post, which is designed to be relayed and amplified.

Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#26

Post by krapp »

johnisgood wrote: post #14
_bin_ wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Jefferson proposed to let the constitution expire every 19 years. This is a terrible idea, actually. The risks of opening the door to majorly modifying the Constitution are very, very high. There are a lot of core freedoms (speech, arms, press come to mind) that would likely come off worse, not better, were we to do so. Which get hit hardest would depend mostly on who's in office at the time, which is extra bad.

You could always make sure it could only increase and not decrease privacy or what have you. Similarly, the "expire every 19 years" must always be included and must never be removed. Gotta keep this small though, because then what's the point...

>You could always make sure it could only increase and not decrease privacy or what have you.

How could one "make sure" of this, and with what authority?

>Similarly, the "expire every 19 years" must always be included and must never be removed.

Again, says who? The constitution has expired, and with it any legal basis for such a requirement.

Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#27

Post by tharne »

bastardoperator wrote: post #24

LAPD and LASD are going to bankrupt Los Angeles. They're more concerned with being a paramilitary police force versus stopping or preventing neighborhood crime.

> They're more concerned with being a paramilitary police force versus stopping or preventing neighborhood crime.

Didn't they pull back on enforcement of quality of life crimes when the previous DA stopped prosecuting criminals? You can't expect the police to arrest criminals knowing full well the DA is immediately going to drop or reduce charges and let them loose.

Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#28

Post by tptacek »

jeffbee wrote: post #7

It is not "surveillance" when the cops see your tweets.

It technically is! The ACLU has a model ordinance called CCOPS, which it encourages municipalities to pass (I got my own muni to pass a version of it last year), and it includes an expansive definition of "surveillance" that definitely includes tools that read public posts on social media.

Importantly, CCOPS doesn't forbid surveillance; it simply requires new instantiations of it to be approved at an open board meeting. Things like Dataminr would almost certainly pass.

Re: Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests

#30

Post by MegaButts »

tharne wrote: post #27
bastardoperator wrote: post #24

LAPD and LASD are going to bankrupt Los Angeles. They're more concerned with being a paramilitary police force versus stopping or preventing neighborhood crime.

> They're more concerned with being a paramilitary police force versus stopping or preventing neighborhood crime. Didn't they pull back on enforcement of quality of life crimes when the previous DA stopped prosecuting criminals? You can't expect the police to arrest criminals knowing full well the DA is immediately going to drop or reduce charges and let them loose.

> You can't expect the police to arrest criminals knowing full well the DA is immediately going to drop or reduce charges and let them loose.

You can't expect the police to do their jobs?

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