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Twitter Blocks Feds From Data Mining Service (usatoday.com)

Posted by msmash on from the get-off-my-lawn dept.

An anonymous reader cites a report on USA Today: Online social media company Twitter has reportedly blocked U.S. intelligence agencies from access to a widely used data mining service it partly owns. Twitter told Dataminr, the business partner that sifts through and provides access to the full output of the San Francisco-based firm's social media postings known as tweets, that it didn't want the service provided to government investigators, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Twitter made the decision because the company did not like the "optics" of appearing too close to U.S. spy agencies, the Journal reported, citing an unidentified intelligence official. The issue could further escalate the public privacy vs. government security tensions between high tech firms and the federal government as investigators seek access to social media and other electronic data in an effort to detect and avert suspected terrorist plots. Newsweek's Kenneth Li said: "This makes no sense. So, dataminr's hedge fund customers are ok, but not the government?"

8 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm.... What to believe? by KGIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Do they really mean what they say or did they "block them" from this service while giving them an all you can drink tap right at the source? What's to stop the Feds from accessing the service under a fictitious name or via a legitimate company?

    I really am turning into a conspiracy theorist. :/

    It's hard to tell these days.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    1. Re:Hmmm.... What to believe? by ArylAkamov · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What's to stop the Feds from accessing the service under a fictitious name or via a legitimate company?

      Nothing, it's just a PR stunt. Like the summary said:

      "Twitter made the decision because the company did not like the "optics" of appearing too close to U.S. spy agencies"

      It's all about appearances.

    2. Re:Hmmm.... What to believe? by KGIII · · Score: 2

      I wonder if they even believe it themselves? Seriously, I'm turning into quite a conspiracy kook or something. I mean, yeah, I fully expected what Snowden released but what more is there?

      As for this? It's well known that the Three Letter Agencies use front companies. So, a company called New Standard Aggregates INC is now just buying the data. They get the PR boost and they people actually believe that the feds are having to revert to scraping the site with scripts. Or, maybe, they have no idea that the Feds can just scrape the site - seeing as it's public. Hell, I can scrape the site - though I might need to use multiple connections to keep up with it. Okay, so I'd need lots of fat pipes to keep up with all the data going to them but I can order that and just use VPNs. I wouldn't even have to leave my house. I doubt I'd even have to script it - I'd just use HTTrack and a bunch of VPNs and scoop until my heart's content.

      No, I won't get GEO IP location and things like that but I can probably do something to automate locating the posters. More so if I were the NSA and had access to the pipes.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  2. the real reason... by Lead+Butthead · · Score: 2

    "pay us. we're not doing this for free."

    --
    ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
    1. Re:the real reason... by i.r.id10t · · Score: 2

      Indeed. And just how enforceable are the terms of service for a service like this? IE, if the terms include "using your real business name" - ie, allow folks who are DBA'ing as Foo Corp to use Foo Corp even though ti is really an individual - and "not reselling or allowing access by others" - so Foo Corp can't allow his drinking buddy Bar Corp to use his account "to check on something" - woudl that be enough to prevent the feds from using a corporation, etc? Because the service can certainly say "oh, we won't sell an account/access to any government agency" - after all, that isn't discrimination based on race, religion, etc.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
  3. The "optics" of helping enemies are better? by mi · · Score: 2

    Twitter made the decision because the company did not like the "optics" of appearing too close to U.S. spy agencies

    So, ISIS using Twitter is tolerable, but US government — no, that's just wrong?

    Ah, well, they started to go after "violent extremism" too now, finally. The "optics" must've gotten really bad...

    Unfortunately, they don't distinguish between terrorists and, for example, Ukrainians defending their country.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  4. Hmmm by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    I take it the cheque bounced?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  5. Hey by Kierthos · · Score: 2

    At least the corporations using this data-mining are being honest about what they're using it for. The government? "Hey, we need to look at this. For reasons. And you can't tell anyone."

    --
    Mr. Hu is not a ninja.