The Chains that May Come with Social Media

Social media is a place where everyone releases everything or at least most of thoughts that run through their minds without any type of filtration. This is fine, right? Isn’t that one of the advantages of social media (at least in appropriate situation)? Most people think so, even if they decide to delete any previous rambles they regret sharing after a moment of clarity.

In an article by Grant Gross in IDG News, he shows how all this freedom we sign up for in any type of social media may be turning into an illusion. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is “monitoring social media services”; but with a newly released “contract for General Dynamics to monitor media” several individuals in government are concerned with the consequences this contract can pose for individuals and the government itself. Representative Patrick Meehan stated that it is fine if the Department of Homeland Security monitors for “crime or terrorism”, however any personal data about individuals should not be collected. As a result the “The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details” but it was eventually turned into a lawsuit when nothing was released.  

What does the Department of Homeland Security have to say about all this? Of course, they defend their actions. It was said that their only focus was on attaining information on natural disasters and other major occurrences. It was claimed that the only names released in reports are those needed for credibility and nothing else. Reference groups typically are used by other individuals to asses themselves, and this is exactly what the department claims to be doing through the comments made by the public.

Government representatives believe that this ordeal needs to be monitored at a great level so the trust and peace of the public can be retained.

I’m sure there are plenty of responses for this happening by individuals. Are we supposed to conform to keeping our ideas off the internet? It seems as though several government personnel is concerned with individuals thinking this way, simply to keep their selves and their information out of the sights of the Department of Homeland Security.

What do you think? Are you still willing to share your thoughts freely?

Article can be found at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250124/lawmakers_question_dhs_monitoring_of_social_media.html

By: Vanessa Torres