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.

[shankbear]

So he can know how many people play FarmTown?

[b4its2late]

[prairiebreeze]

Haa! I’m a friend of hers too. And I post a lot of under-reported political links on Facebook along with my own pithy yet pertinent comments to go with them.

And I have no intention of stopping.

[bamahead]

The targeted sites include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and others – any space where the White House “maintains a presence.”



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[mentor2k]

PING for later read.

[444Flyer]

Speak of the devil...

I’ve been getting a lot of invites to “join” friends on these sites. NO.

[penelopesire]

Thanks for the link.

[Eroteme]

It appears as if the site is being overwhelmed by people checking this out. Excellent.

Hopefully, Robert Gibbs is, right now, having his fingers pried from a West Wing door jamb as he sobs, “Don’t make me go out there..please don’t make me have to explain this...”

[b4its2late]

Ok, I'll wait to do this:

or this:

and this:

[penelopesire]

A better question is where are the constitution loving legal groups and or republicans/liberterians filing cases in the Supreme Court regarding Obama’s Abuse Of Power? The court must wait for a case before they act.

[penelopesire]

Gibbs won’t get any questions on this and if he does, he will just have some smart ass reply. The WH press corps have become an utter joke.

[EdReform]

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.

Harvest this:

FUBO

[CottShop]

How the HELL are they getting away with this crap? Cripes! WHERE are the GOP screaming about this?

[EdReform]

Ping!

[Munz]

>Here is one dissenting opinion they can harvest:<

What do you really think? Don’t hold back now.
I hate it when people beat around the bush!

[Niuhuru]

It’s like they’re begging us to revolt. Amazing how Zero is doing everything that they accused Bush of doing on a daily basis.

[AFPhys]

This is nearly unbelievable.

It would be completely unbelievable if it weren’t for the prior lessons we should get from studying history: the history of Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Russia.

[CSM]

I am not nervous at all. I’m already on all of their lists!

[SE Mom]

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/09/02/does-obama-plan-to-spy-on-social-networking-sites/

It’s getting more coverage - Hot Air has it up..

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yes, they are because it is illegal for the White House to collect information on the people for whatever reason, and with this White House, I cannot believe that it would be for positive reasons.