RED ALERT: White House Has Secret Plan To Harvest Personal Data From Social Networking Websites

National Legal and Policy Center ^ | August 31, 2009 | Ken Boehm

[PowerPro]

NLPC has uncovered a plan by the White House New Media operation to hire a technology vendor to conduct a massive, secret effort to harvest personal information on millions of Americans from social networking websites.

The information to be captured includes comments, tag lines, emails, audio, and video. The targeted sites include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and others – any space where the White House “maintains a presence.”

In the course of investigating procurement by the White House New Media office, NLPC discovered a 51-page solicitation of bids that was filed on Friday, August 21, 2009. Filed as Solicitation # WHO-S-09-0003, it is posted at FedBizzOps.com. Click here to download a 51-page pdf of the solicitation.

While the solicitation specifies a 12-month contract, it allows for seven one-year extensions. It specifies no dollar cap. Other troubling issues include:

extremely broad secrecy terms preventing the vendor from disclosing to the public or the media what information is being captured and archived (page 7, “Restriction Against Disclosure”)

wholesale capturing of comments by non-White House staff on publicly accessible sites

capturing of content of any type (text, graphics, audio, or video)

capturing of comments by both Obama critics and supporters, with no restriction as to how the White House would use the information.

This is the third controversy involving the White House internet operations in less than a month. First, Obama’s New Media operation asked supporters to send information about critics of the White House health care effort to a White House email. This provoked a storm of criticism and the White House retreated. Then large number of people complained of getting email spam from the White House supporting the President’s health care position. Again the White House was forced to back down.

[Sprite518]

Right but I do not think that is going to happen.

[scripter]

ping

[Clump]

I just sent the link to my very conservative GOP Congressman after speaking with his assistant on the phone. I told her I have no confidence in the media, and I expect someone to raise hell.

[rwfromkansas]

Not sure.

[Beloved Levinite]

So what then, Tyranny??

[rwfromkansas]

That language is still in the RFQ.

[ninergold3]

I am already in the "system", and have been for years.

I'm thinking that maybe I am too though you never know. I lived in S. San Franciso for many years. One evening I'm driving home from work - in the fast lane - when I realize that traffic on the other side of the freeway is nil. Not one car. . .Hmmmm. Then the radio traffic guy says that Pres. Bill Clinton was heading from SFO to downtown SF.

I immediately rolled down my window and waited. As the motorcade made it's approach I stuck my beautifully manicured hand out the window and flipped him the bird, while yelling some unlady-like things at him. Don't know if he even saw me but it made me feel better. =)

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"If true, then this White House is in a pant load of trouble."

Actually, to my eye this is a dodge to avoid a pantload of trouble. The WH would smirk and say, "This is a private company collecting publicly-available information. None of the work is done by the government. It's all acquired and stored by a private business. You're not against private businesses, are you?"

The situation seems to parallel the deployment of Echelon, the NSA's massive data-mining operation which is staged out of the UK to avoid domestic legal issues. This might be, too, when the dust settles.

[BykrBayb]

Some people (okay, liberals) have selective vision. They can look right at something, and not see it, because it doesn’t fit their pre-formed beliefs. They’re the kind of people who don’t see the ball bouncing into the road in front of them, because they don’t see what isn’t supposed to be there. And if by chance they do happen to see it, they can’t evaluate the situation to figure out how it may apply to them. They may see a ball bounce into the road in front of their car, but they never even wonder why the ball is there. It never occurs to them that a child may be playing with the ball. They just run the kid over when he runs out to get his ball. So when they were exposed to the problems of East Berlin, most of them didn’t see it, and those who did had no idea how it may apply to them. They voted for it when it was offered in the person of Obama.

[MeekOneGOP]

Pingin’ my General Interest & Texas Lists cuz I thought you’d wanna know! :)

- - - - -

Ping! Ping! Ping!

[MeekOneGOP]

[MeekOneGOP]

Hey!

I haven’t been quite as active here on FR cuz
I’m HOOKED on the “Mafia Wars” over on Facebook.

I “adopted” your pic FGS as my pic on Facebook
and it is PERFECT for my Mafia Wars pic, LOL!!

Go here if you’d like to see or maybe even join. :)

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1794667501&ref=profile

[NotSoModerate]

That language is still in the RFQ.

Um, no it's not. Read the two, the language changes.... as the phrase, "maintains a presence" is never used- not even once- in the pre-solicitation. This may seem like nothing but that term is very broad and far reaching!!!

[LucyT]

[penelopesire]

Not sure..I am no constitutional expert but I can see why it would be a bad idea for the Supremes to be able to initiate proceedings. Seperation of Powers, etc.

There are plenty of conservative/liberterian/independent legal groups that can start taking this stuff to court though. They need to start now.

[thouworm]

can you provide link for this (assume it’s not a joke)? Life in the USSA is becoming so surreal, it’s getting hard to tell the reality from the satire.

[Never on my watch]

See post 115

[Never on my watch]

Sorry, answered the wrong question for you. Disregard.

[algernonpj]

Good graphic. Unfortunately for us, McCarthy and JBS were correct.

[Wife of D]

keep for later