"Revealed: The Orwellian Tools Law Enforcement Use to Spy on Activists on Social Media Last week, the California ACLU released an alarming report about California law enforcement agencies’ covert use of social media surveillance software. The report compiles records requested of 63 police departments, sheriffs, and district attorneys across the state. The ACLU found over 40% are using the software without any transparency or public disclosure. They also reported law enforcement officers may be using the social media surveillance software in a way that specifically targets activists of color. The three primary pieces of software cited in the ACLU report are MediaSonar, X1 Social Discovery, and Geofeedia. These tools are marketed to law enforcement agencies as ways to keep track of protesters, particularly protesters and activists of color... ...Another document obtained from Geofeedia refers to unions and activists as 'overt threats.' The ACLU argues their research makes clear that law enforcement agencies view protesters exercising their constitutional rights as “enemies...' ” http://theantimedia.org/revealed-law-enforcement-spy-activists/
Interesting that the arguments-against are majoring on the obviously unacceptable discriminatory aspects, whereas the equally unacceptable bulk unwarranted/general warranted aspects of what they are doing is apparently less weighty. I guess, from a legal perspective, the social media information is already voluntarily in the public domain (although that's not peoples' intent), so the data mining thereof is just fine & dandy, whereas discrimination is rightly not. But it illustrates how dodgy notions of public space are if they are permanently surveilled - whatever the intent, this was not at all the case in the past, whether virtual or physical. I do like the schemes they are encouraging to constrain police powers on a local level, at least there's better accountability and democracy at that level than the national one.
More extensive/detailed report on the OP story that raises further issues: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...p_rhp-more-top-stories_no-name:homepage/story
Twitter, Facebook revoke access to social media surveillance software used by cops https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/10/13/social-media-surveillance/