Slipping down that slippery slope?

https://www.bespacific.com/ice-is-building-a-social-media-panopticon/

ICE is building a social media panopticon

The Verge – no paywall – “The agency’s latest surveillance contract is an ’assault’ on democracy and free speech. As Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out raids across the country, the agency is working rapidly to expand an online surveillance system that could potentially track millions of users on the web. Federal records The “real-time intelligence” platform is capable of ingesting and analyzing vast amounts of publicly available data, like social media posts, The pamphlet highlights Zignal’s ability to capture geolocated images and videos while providing alerts and information to “operators.” One example states that Zignal Labs used its technology to analyze a Telegram video showing “the precise location of an ongoing operation in Gaza.” The company says its tool identified emblems and patches to “confirm the operators involved,” allowing it to notify operators on the ground. That means ICE could potentially trace someone’s location based on the location attached to a video posted on TikTok, or even a picture on Facebook. ICE procured the Surveillance on social media isn’t anything new. In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union found that “With billions of dollars to spend on spyware, it’s extremely alarming to think how far ICE will go in surveilling social media,” Owen says. “ICE is a lawless agency that will use AI-driven social media monitoring not only to terrorize immigrant families, but also to target activists fighting back against their abuses. This is an assault on our democracy and right to free speech, powered by the algorithm and paid for with our tax dollars.”…

• Earlier this month, a report from Wired revealed that ICE plans to hire almost 30 workers to comb through content on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, and other social platforms to “locate individuals who pose a danger to national security, public safety, and/or otherwise meet ICE’s law enforcement mission.” A document seen by Wired shows that ICE is requesting information from contractors who could help the agency carry out the initiative, which may even require workers to search for data about a target’s family members, friends, or coworkers to pinpoint their whereabouts for ICE officers. The document notes that ICE would place around 12 contractors in a monitoring facility in Vermont, while 16 staff members would work in California, with some required to be available “at all times.”

• David Greene, civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells The Verge that automated and AI-powered monitoring tools will give the government the ability to “monitor social media for viewpoints it doesn’t like on a scale that was never possible with human review alone.” Greene adds, “The scale of this spying is matched by an equally massive chilling effect on free speech.”

• Outside social media, 404 Media reports that ICE has tapped into license plate-scanning security cameras, as well as gained access to a tool that tracks the movement of millions of phones. The Trump administration’s social media surveillance plans extend beyond ICE, with Citizenship and Immigration Services proposing an initiative that would require people applying for US citizenship or personal residency to provide their social media account handles. In 2019, the State Department began requiring some visa applicants to list their social media handles on sites they’ve used within the past year, but the agency expanded it to include more kinds of nonimmigrant visas in June …”

Good news or bad news?

https://dig.watch/updates/un-cybercrime-treaty-signed-in-hanoi-amid-rights-concerns

UN cybercrime treaty signed in Hanoi amid rights concerns

Around 60 countries signed a landmark UN cybercrime convention in Hanoi, seeking faster cooperation against online crime. Leaders cited trillions in annual losses from scams, ransomware, and trafficking. The pact enters into force after 40 ratifications.

UN supporters say the treaty will streamline evidence sharing, extradition requests, and joint investigations. Provisions target phishing, ransomware, online exploitation, and hate speech. Backers frame the deal as a boost to global security.

Critics warn the text’s breadth could criminalise security research and dissent. The Cybersecurity Tech Accord called it a surveillance treaty. Activists fear expansive data sharing with weak safeguards.