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November 30, 2012

FBI uses Facebook "likes" and "shares" to build terrorism case


Earlier this month, the FBI’s Los Angeles field office revealed it had charged four men over alleged involvement in an al-Qaeda inspired terror cell based in and around California. Since 2010, the men had, according to the feds, been plotting ways to help provide “material support” to terrorists in order to kill American targets in Afghanistan. The FBI’s complaint against the group was under seal until it was released a few days ago, and it has since attracted attention from activists because of some of the shadowy law enforcement techniques it reveals.
The document shows that aside from using the traditional method of paying a “confidential source,” the FBI was also trying to infiltrate the group electronically. Using an “online covert employee,” the feds posed as terrorism sympathisers in order to gauge the potential threat posed by certain individuals. In one case, they say they got a 21-year-old Mexico-born man to admit he was keen to pursue jihad in order to “stop the oppressors.” Other sections of the complaint detail how the FBI was somehow able to obtain audio and video recordings of Skype conversations in which their confidential informant participated. Given that it remains unclear whether it is technically possible to wiretap Skype due to its encryption, it’s possible that the FBI had installed some sort of spyware directly onto the terrorists’ computer in order to bypass any eavesdropping barriers.
But perhaps most interesting is how the feds monitored social networks. One part of the complaint, headed “DEFENDANTS' SOCIAL MEDIA,” lists Islamist content the men had “liked”, “shared”, commented on or posted on their Facebook pages. The FBI details how Sohiel Omar Kabir, a U.S. citizen who appears to be the alleged ringleader of the group, posted “photographs of himself, non-extremist content, radical Islamist content, and items reflecting a mistrust of mainstream media, abuses by the government, conspiracy theories, abuses by law enforcement, and the war in Afghanistan.” It adds, in reference to two of the other suspects, “Kabir has ‘shared’ several postings with Santana and/or Deleon, both of whom have ‘liked’ or commented on several other postings by Kabir.”
This illustrates how important social media behavior is becoming for law enforcement agencies as they try to build cases against individuals. But it will also raise concerns about how social network monitoring could have a chilling effect on free speech, especially if “liking” or sharing any controversial content on Facebook becomes viewed by authorities as inherently suspicious or criminal. Other countries have already had to face up to controversy over how their law enforcement agencies monitor and penalize social network users. Earlier this month, for instance, two women were arrested in India: one for posting an “offensive” comment on Facebook about a recently deceased political leader, the other for “liking” it. The women have since been released on bail and, the New York Times reports, a police investigation into why they were arrested in the first place has been ordered.

9 comments:

  1. [posted “photographs of himself, non-extremist content, radical Islamist content, and items reflecting a mistrust of mainstream media, abuses by the government, conspiracy theories, abuses by law enforcement, and the war in Afghanistan.” ]

    Except for the Islamist content, that is also likely true of the vast majority of this site's readership.

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  2. Tax money at work.....

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  3. So, one of the conspiracy theories the suspect might have floated was that the FBI was monitoring his Facebook posts?

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  4. be careful here. this is proof thst you can be srrested for what you say

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  5. So like the old not so old GDR that was East Germany it could look as if in the west we are now in the zone.The commie Starzi in the GDR could arrest you off the street if a Stazi informant or anybody actually believed there was even an idea that you wrre even thinking about escaping to the west to go shopping..straight before a Stazi Judge always a guilty decision and commonly a 17 yr solitary sentence ensued with no visitors and only the occasional interrogation by a Stazi hierarchical boofhead. Suicide was deemed proof you see ....no intent neede to be proved and no proofs whatsoever required.com...is this shit coming to the west?? Its already here critters just look at 3-4 decades of family law anti male frminist jurisprudence for starters... anything goes agin males there. The GDR Stazi thought they actually believed that they were superior to any unit in the world on getting malcontents ie baddies on thought crimes first before they committed the offence....Are we all getting the picture??? .....dumkopfs!

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  6. FBI/CIA has/is doing their Told2Do hack jobs for the interests of protecting their political handlers,who which fear for their lives. Millions of arabs/Muslims have died since the Crusades. If FBI/CIA don't make up terrorists and put the Jewus fear into many pissedoff muslims--they'ed go after every politician and IsraelFirster in this FKD-up land.
    Pssst! to FBI--tryme :^(

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  7. COINTELPRO and the RED SCARE all over again.

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  8. Facebook is a honey trap, and its for 12year olds, grow-up..

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  9. Meh fuck the FBI, I had to hand hold them as a senior in College and I knew about jack and shit back then compared to now. Luckily everything is now done by the secret service (though not sure why on that one, but they seem to be more competent). Anonymous and others are also equally inept, I still think Anonymous is 3-4 really smart guys with about 50 or 60 script kiddies hoping to get coverage. It's a "big brother" scare. If you work for the FBI, Secret Service or Anon, you probably weren't good enough to get a real paycheck. Anon hacks account to make money, FBI and Secret Service don't pay well enough to keep anyone of real intelligence

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