The FBI wants a better way to monitor social media sites. The bureau wants to glean information from sites like Facebook, Twitter, Fox News and CNN to better respond to crises and foresee security threats.
We know this because the New Scientist discovered a document that the FBI posted online recently. It calls on companies that might be interested in creating a monitoring system for the FBI and spells out exactly what they want this snooping tool to do.
The bureau's wishlist is extensive but here are some of the highlights:
They need the app to be able to instantly search and monitor keywords in "publicly available" material on all social networking sites and forums.
Additionally, they want it to display tweets, posts and other material on a map to which they can add layers of other data like locations of US embassies and traffic conditions.
The document also suggests that the FBI wants to use social media to target specific users and groups who may pose a threat.
While many privacy advocates disagree with the idea of social media monitoring, the government would probably say that since the information is public, it's fair game.
Anyone interested in helping out the FBI should submit a proposal by Feb. 10.
