Social Media and Government Surveillance: The Case for Better Privacy Protections for Our Newest Public Space
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JERAMIE D. SCOTT*
Social Media and Government Surveillance: The
Case for Better Privacy Protections for Our Newest
Public Space
I. INTRODUCTION
Social media sites are public space and government mass surveillance of this public
space undermines our democracy. As we spend more and more of our lives on
digital mediums, the government is monitoring publicly available social media data
more than ever.' At the same time, the Internet, particularly social media, has
become an important public space to exercise First Amendment rights.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans use social media accounts.2 People use social
media to share ideas, explore new ideas, and engage those with similar and
dissimilar ideas. Additionally, social media has become a key tool of social
movements like the Occupy Movement and Black Lives Matter.3
This Essay will examine the government's use of social media monitoring
services to collect, monitor, and analyze social media data for the purposes of
fighting crime and terrorism. After explaining the use of social media monitoring,' I
will examine the importance of privacy in public.s Following, I will discuss the
dangers of this monitoring and the lack of legal protection.' In conclusion, I will
offer the necessary actions that must be taken to protect our privacy and ultimately
our First Amendment rights in an age of social media monitoring.
@ 2017 Jeranie D. Scott
* EPIC's National Security Counsel and Director of EPIC's Domestic Surveillance Project.
1. Map: Social Media Monitoring by Police Departments, Cities, and Counties, BRENNAN CENTER FOR
JUSTICE (Nov. 16, 2016) [hereinafter Brennan Center Map], https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/map-
social-media-monitoring-police-departments-cities-and-counties.
2. Shea Bennett, 67% of Americans Use Social Media (With One in Six Active on Twitter), AD WEEK:
SocIAL TIMES (Apr. 2,2014), http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-america/497615.
3. See, e.g., Bijan Stephen, Social Media Helps Black Lives Matter Fight the Power, WIRED MAG. (Nov.
2015), https://www.wired.com/2015/10/how-black-lives-matter-uses-social-media-to-fight-the-power.
4. See infra Part II.
5. See infra Part III.
6. See infra Parts IV-V.
7. See infra Part VI.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY LAW
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Social Media and Government Surveillance: The Case for Better Privacy Protections for Our Newest Public Space
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