Ever since a series of leaks revealed the extent to which American law enforcement and paramilitary organizations spied on people a few years ago, everyone started to realize just how much power these institutions have on them. The FBI is one such organization, and they have just invested a sum of around $27 million into a new project that they are dubbing Babel X, and while the project itself has been around for a while the FBI granted 5,000 new licenses for its use.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the FBI is looking to spy on a wide range of platforms, including some of the most popular social media sites out there such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The FBI will also be using Babel X to spy on the dark web where a large quantity of illegal activity tends to occur with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Interestingly, various conservative oriented platforms such as Gab and Parlor have not been included in the FBI’s list of platforms that it would like to keep an eye on. What’s even more concerning is that the FBI is analyzing this data instead of just obtaining it, something that many are decrying because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up infringing on all manner of civil liberties that people would obviously not want to end up parting ways with.
The FBI started to invest heavily into various surveillance tech after the attempted coup by Trump loyalists following his defeat in the US presidential election. The ensuing riot was in large part organized and coordinated through the use of social media platforms, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it doesn’t seem like the FBI is focusing on conservative platforms where this organizing was a great deal more widespread. It remains to be seen whether or not lawmakers or policy makers will have anything to say about this new development in the near future.
Read next: Which apps targeted at kids collect the most data?
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the FBI is looking to spy on a wide range of platforms, including some of the most popular social media sites out there such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The FBI will also be using Babel X to spy on the dark web where a large quantity of illegal activity tends to occur with all things having been considered and taken into account.
Interestingly, various conservative oriented platforms such as Gab and Parlor have not been included in the FBI’s list of platforms that it would like to keep an eye on. What’s even more concerning is that the FBI is analyzing this data instead of just obtaining it, something that many are decrying because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up infringing on all manner of civil liberties that people would obviously not want to end up parting ways with.
The FBI started to invest heavily into various surveillance tech after the attempted coup by Trump loyalists following his defeat in the US presidential election. The ensuing riot was in large part organized and coordinated through the use of social media platforms, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it doesn’t seem like the FBI is focusing on conservative platforms where this organizing was a great deal more widespread. It remains to be seen whether or not lawmakers or policy makers will have anything to say about this new development in the near future.
Read next: Which apps targeted at kids collect the most data?
