SMILE – You’re Under Police Surveillance
Not that I have any sympathy for gangsters, whether they are crips or politicians, but the monitoring of twitter by police recently led to the arrest of 56 people in blue clothing for standing in a park being suspicious. Maybe they were plotting and scheming something heinous. Maybe gangsters just like to get together for a BBQ once in a while like the rest of us. I don’t know and nobody will ever know for certain. Is it better safe than sorry to have police monitoring social network activity to prevent potential flash mobs from gathering in the name of destruction?
The fourth SMILE (Social Media, The Internet and Law Enforcement), to be held in Dallas this September, intends to focus specifically on “social activists’ interference with investigations, maintaining public order, and mass surveillance in an open source world.”
The ‘Social Media the Internet and Law Enforcement’ (SMILE) conference will arm you with all the technical hands-on skills and the practical knowledge to enter the social media world with confidence.
Unfortunately, I won’t be in the area to attend as I would really like to see what it being done. Is this just a modern day example of probably cause? If your facebook profile is private, are they taking measures to get around that? What is the perceived threat that law enforcement see from social activists? Is law enforcement looking to prevent crime or act as thought police, punishing civilians for what they ‘might’ do?
As for the opening NYPD example, a single handgun was found at the scene. This means that out of 56 people, one was actually committing a crime. All 56 were arrested, but no single person could be charged for possession of the weapon. Is this the new law enforcement strategy? Punish many for the crimes of a few? Are social activists going to be viewed in the same light as gangsters because they use the same social media?
I hope that these answers soon become apparent to the public.
Tags: activism, activists, civil, crime, crips, facebook, flash, gangsters, infringement, internet, invasion, media, mob, mobs, nypd, prevention, privacy, rights, riot, riots, smile, social, surveillance, twitter