Social Media Surveillance At The Williston ICE Facility
News broke last week that the federal government is seeking to hire private vendors to staff a social media surveillance program at The National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center– an ICE facility in Williston, Vermont. Though still in an early planning stage, the concept is to hire a dozen contractors to create an office capable of scouring the internet 24-7 to research ICE targets rapidly.
They will search social media sites–public posts, photos, and messages on platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok–and numerous commercial databases which collate property records, phone & utilities information, vehicle registrations, and other personal details into searchable files.
This plan includes another site in California, and would dramatically expand the government’s internet surveillance capabilities. Wired reports: “Together, these teams would operate as intelligence arms of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. They will receive tips and incoming cases, research individuals online, and package the results into dossiers that could be used by field offices to plan arrests.”
VT Digger picked this story up on Monday, October 6, and on the next Sunday, over 100 protesters participated in a planned demonstration at another nearby ICE facility in Williston.
CVRAN will continue to prioritize privacy in our publicity, social media, and communications. In addition to our organizational privacy policies, we will work with New Vermonters to make sure they are aware and able to communicate as securely as possible.
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