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RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!
9/3/2009, 06:39 PM
Report: Obama White House Plans To Harvest Personal Data From Networking Sites
September, 1, 2009 — nicedeb

It just keeps getting worse.

Remember when the left had apoplectic hissy fits over the warrantless wiretap program the Bush administration established after Sept. 11 in order to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists’ conversations?

Although many saw it as an infringement on civil liberties, the wiretap program was put in place to save American lives.

Whose life/lives are protected by this?


Quote:
NLPC (National Legal Policy Center) 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.

Doug Ross continues:


Quote:
Note that this is third troubling development related to White House new media operations. The first controversy erupted after the administration began collecting information on critics of the Obama health care transformation program. The second related to spam emails sent by David Axelrod, an Obama senior adviser.

Now the White House intends to harvest vast amounts of data on American citizens who use social networking sites. The scope of the program as described in the RFQ is shocking:

• Capture of comments by detractors and supporters of Obama: the RFQ specifies that the White House will capture “comments by both Obama critics and supporters, with no restriction as to how the White House would use the information.”

• Transparency: there is none. The RFQ includes “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”)”;

• Collection of data on citizens: the RFQ prescribes a massive data collection effort including capturing of comments on any website or social networking service;

• Collection of any and all types of content: text, markup, graphics, video, audio, etc.

The NLPC says:

the Presidential Records Act is so expansive that virtually any communication mentioning the president or the Administration could become subject to collection and archiving under the Act. This is not out of an “abundance of caution,” but out of an over-abundance of power.

Awesome. The Nice Deb file is going to be huge.

King Crimson
9/3/2009, 06:42 PM
you didn't seem to mind when this was called "national security" in 2003.

either civil liberties matter or they don't.

delhalew
9/3/2009, 06:48 PM
Is this the way an administration interested in healing division and staying above board operates?

Octavian
9/3/2009, 06:49 PM
As I've consistently said at all times and always will until my last day, I fully support this and every other initiative this administration and, in particular, this POTUS --who is clearly the greatest and smartest leader in the history of great and smart leaders --has ever or will ever attempt.


Their all powerful awesomeness knows no bounds and it is the direct result of the incredible leadership of the POTUS. I will continue to fully serve at their pleasure now and forever.


XOXO,
Octavian

Curly Bill
9/3/2009, 06:50 PM
As I've consistently said at all times and always will until my last day, I fully support this and every other initiative this administration and, in particular, this POTUS --who is clearly the greatest and smartest leader in the history of great and smart leaders --has ever or will ever attempt.


Their all powerful awesomeness knows no bounds and it is the direct result of the incredible leadership of the POTUS. I will continue to fully serve at their pleasure now and forever.


XOXO,
Octavian

:D I see what you did there. ;)

yermom
9/3/2009, 06:54 PM
are they getting this from the websites via things that should be "private" or are they crawling websites and pulling public info?

My Opinion Matters
9/3/2009, 06:58 PM
Does this mean the political threads will finally come to an end? Yay!

delhalew
9/3/2009, 07:00 PM
are they getting this from the websites via things that should be "private" or are they crawling websites and pulling public info?

The article said via "contracts" with secrecy clauses.

delhalew
9/3/2009, 07:03 PM
you didn't seem to mind when this was called "national security" in 2003.

either civil liberties matter or they don't.

If you are referring to the patriot act, I do have a problem with portions of that policy. Tell me you know enough about the PA to see that this is completely different and far wider in bpth scale and intent.

Veritas
9/3/2009, 07:13 PM
Sheesh, who cares. Social media isn't private data.

At least the leftists recognize "New Media." I think the right has just now figured out how to use their bag phones.

yermom
9/3/2009, 07:16 PM
well, if they are just mining comments and posts, i'm okay with that. if we are talking PMs and inboxes, etc... that's another story

none of the other stuff is really intended to be private

Veritas
9/3/2009, 07:17 PM
well, if they are just mining comments and posts, i'm okay with that. if we are talking PMs and inboxes, etc... that's another story
Agreed.

delhalew
9/3/2009, 07:29 PM
If this is referring to data mining personal info- addies, email, or whatever, its not cool. Then there is the broader question. Why?

I obviously am not shy with my opinions. Personal info is another matter.

Veritas
9/3/2009, 07:45 PM
Since I own a software company that does this type of work, I downloaded the RFQ and scanned through it. Three of the pages are project specific, the rest of it is the boilerplate government RFQ software guidelines.

Take it from me, a guy who writes this kind of software: this is not a big deal. That article that RLIMC posted is full of **** and it just plain makes up verbiage to make the RFQ sound scary and Orwellian.

Honestly, the right seriously needs to get a grip or this Obama ******* is going to have eight years to **** up the country, not just four.

delhalew
9/3/2009, 08:01 PM
Fair enough.

RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!
9/3/2009, 08:08 PM
Honestly, the right seriously needs to get a grip or this Obama ******* is going to have eight years to **** up the country, not just four.The right getting a grip will help stop Obama's agenda...how? You do realize all he's done so far, and not even 9 months in office?

soonerloyal
9/3/2009, 08:09 PM
I dunno which is better entertainment, the Right eating itself, or the Left watching the Right eat itself.

Either way...the Ultra-Right is HI-larious. In a scary, OMG-you-aren't seriously-serious?! way.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have more Birth Certificates to fake and fingers to bite off. *chomp*

Frozen Sooner
9/3/2009, 08:12 PM
well, if they are just mining comments and posts, i'm okay with that. if we are talking PMs and inboxes, etc... that's another story

none of the other stuff is really intended to be private

NiCE TO KNOWE yOur PASSWORDE Is SAFE!!!!

Gandalf_The_Grey
9/3/2009, 08:22 PM
I don't care what they do, as long as they keep me safe from terrorist

I don't do anything illegally on there so I don't care if they do check them

Ironically, the right is finding out the slippery slope gets awfully slippery awfully fast

49r
9/3/2009, 08:44 PM
Besides, the amount of personal data Google owns on you would dwarf anything this will end up doing.

Another example of private enterprise doing a job better than the government?

Veritas
9/3/2009, 09:08 PM
The right getting a grip will help stop Obama's agenda...how?
Good point. Don't bother getting a grip.

soonerinabilene
9/3/2009, 09:38 PM
Does this include spek comments? Cause some of the things said in those are illegal in 27 states.