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1 New York City Public Records Request, January 30, 2020 [1] (2020)

handle is hein.brennan/nycprrbc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE January 30, 2020 Re: Freedom of Information Law Request Dear Sir or Madam: This is a request under the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), N.Y. Pub. Off. Law §§ 86, 87, on behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law (Brennan Center). The Brennan Center seeks information relating to the New York City Police Department's use of social media to collect information about individuals, groups, and activities, described below as social media monitoring. Background In general, social media monitoring is a term describing the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to gather information for purposes including, but not limited to, identifying potential threats, reviewing breaking news, collecting individuals' information, conducting criminal investigations and intelligence, and gauging public sentiment. Social media monitoring can be conducted through individual, direct use of social media platforms and their search functions (including via the use of a social media account, either public or undercover), or through third-party monitoring tools that use keywords, geographic locations, and data mining to identify trends and networks of association. The most recent publicly available social media use policy from the New York City Police Department (NYPD or Department), which was produced in response to a 2015 FOIL request, allows officers to use social media to aid investigations, including by using fictional or undercover personas.1 The arrest of Jelani Henry on murder charges in 2012 demonstrates the Department's use of social media during investigations to identify potential persons of interest via their friend and follower networks. Mr. Henry was arrested based on his associations and pictures with members of a local crew.2 He spent two years 1See Chase Pashkowich, NYPD Online Surveillance, MUCKROCK, h /_ s://ww nvclock con/fonewyorLcitl- I<nv pd-online-survei1ance4466/#file34 135 (last visited Oct. 29, 2019). 2 David Uberti, How Social-Media Surveillance of Teenagers Led to a New Kind of Policing, NATION (Apr. 19, 2019), ha zs :/www.thenation.comlarticlefefferwlanedigitastreet-oo'.eview/ reviewin Sociolo ist Jeifre ILane s book The Digital Street Ben Popper, How The NYPD Is Using Social Media To Put Harlem Teens Behind Bars, VERGE (Dec. 10, 2014), h e Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law 1140 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20036

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