Social media has done a lot of good in this world. It has allowed business another avenue to advertise and promote themselves and it has allowed individuals to connect to one another in a way that could only have been dreamt of when Tim Berners-Lee conceived of the Internet. It has also done a lot of bad, from the scandals that continue to plague Facebook to the users who use the platforms. This has prompted the FBI to do something that has led to outrage from nearly every corner of the Internet.
How To Stop Mass Shootings?
After every tragedy the first thing that is ultimately looked at is the perpetrator’s social media profile. While not true in every case there are almost always warning signs that the person that was about to do something evil. They may not have telegraphed where and when but there is something. This has prompted many to want these social media companies to do more to police their users which places these social media companies in a bind.
This has prompted the FBI to search for a solution. As reported by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) in August it was revealed that they were soliciting solutions from third-party vendors that would allow them to harvest publicly available information from social media platforms. This can potentially include names, photos and usernames and they also want to analyze the meta data of the user.
Social Media Is Just A Piece Of The Puzzle
It is believed that should this be implemented the FBI may not be able to learn much but when combining this information with other information that they may have available to them it could give them a better understanding of the individual. The FBI contends that this information will be done only on persons of interest and “to proactively identify and reactively monitor threats to the United States and its interest.”
Social media has been in the crosshairs in recent years and many politicians, from President Trump on down have blamed it in one way or another for the problems that it has created or amplified. As a result President Trump has directed the Department of Justice to develop a tool to try to detect potential mass shooters before they can carry out the act.
A Tough Position For Social Media
Of course this places social media platforms in a tough position. Facebook in particular has been under fire for how it handles user data and has only recently agreed to major changes regarding how they conduct business. Harvesting data for surveillance purposes is against the Facebook terms of service and would place them in a tough spot. Imagine relaxing the rules to appease the Department of Justice while being targeted by the Department of Commerce for doing so. It would be government at its finest but it is no laughing manner.
Privacy vs. Security
In a way this is just the latest in the never ending battle between security and privacy. How much of our privacy are we willing to surrender to ensure better security? It was a question that our founding fathers wrestled with and it has not abated even today. Facebook and other social media companies like Twitter will need to proceed cautiously. They are already under fire from the government and from the public for how they conducted business in the past and they do not need another major blunder on their hands.
But does that negate the potential loss of life with someone who is plotting a mass shooting or bombing. Many of these people do launch into hate-filled manifestos while hiding in their corner of the Internet and social media. But not all of them do and some emerge from nowhere. Others may say things behind a keyboard and have no intention of actually carrying out an act. How can this be implemented while not violating a person’s Constitutional rights?
How Much Will It Cost And How Effective Could It Be?
At the same time how much manpower will this require? Would social media companies be tasked with monitoring their users and forwarding anything suspicious to the DOJ or would the FBI be given access (which they technically already have)? AI may be able to help detect someone but what if that person is now driven underground to a place that the FBI cannot reach or is out of sight. Manpower costs money, especially at the FBI and this could be simply throwing millions or billions of dollars that could be used more efficiently elsewhere.
The FBI has also called on Congress to make domestic terrorism a federal crime to give them more tools to try to prevent these acts. This would potentially be one of those tools. But many people have made threatening statements on social media and AI (or even a human) may not be able to understand the context of the statement. After all, any parent has probably said at some point that they wanted to kill their kid and we all know they don’t mean it. How much time and resources will be wasted pursuing leads like these?
Could It Work?
Could this actually work? Many law enforcement officials believe that this is simply spitting into the wind (or tilting at windmills if you prefer a more Quixotic refernce) and will produce little to no tangible results. The program will be called into question the moment the first mass shooting or terrorist act occurs and is not stopped by the FBI or is not even on the FBI’s radar. There are billions of users on social media and very few of them actually commit these acts. While this could potentially make them easier to follow finding them could be extremely difficult. This may also just force those users off of the grid, thereby making them even harder to find.
There are of course also valid privacy concerns for users as well. If this should be implemented it is doubtful that it will ever be undone and will only be expanded in the future. We all worry about Big Brother and an Orwellian future but this could be how it becomes mainstream. Is it worth it? For anyone who would be saved from an act of terror it would be (but how would you truly know?). At least the Trump Administration is trying to do something but like with many government projects it may not do anything at all.