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'Careful What You Post': ICE Expanding Surveillance of Social Media Critics
"ICE's attempt to have eyes and ears in as many places as we exist both online and offline should ring an alarm for all of us," said one campaigner.
Feb 11, 2025
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to hire a contractor as part of an effort to expand the monitoring of negative social media posts about the agency, its personnel, and operations, according to a report published Monday.
According toThe Intercept's Sam Biddle, ICE is citing "an increase in threats" to agents and leadership as the reason for seeking a contractor to keep tabs on the public's social media activity.
The agency said the contractor "shall provide all necessary personnel, supervision, management, equipment, materials, and services, except for those provided by the government, in support of ICE's desire to protect ICE senior leaders, personnel, and facilities via internet-based threat mitigation and monitoring services."
"These efforts include conducting vulnerability assessments and proactive threat monitoring," ICE added, explaining that the contractor will be required to provide daily and monthly status reports and immediately alert supervisors of "imminent threats."
Careful what you post: ICE is seeking private contractors to conduct social media surveillance including detection of merely "negative" sentiment about the agency's leadership, agents, and general operations theintercept.com/2025/02/11/i...
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— Sam Biddle (@sambiddle.com) February 11, 2025 at 9:27 AM
ICE will require the monitor to identify and report "previous social media activity which would indicate any additional threats to ICE," as well as any information indicating that individuals or groups "making threats have a proclivity for violence" and anything "indicating a potential for carrying out a threat."
According to Biddle:
It's unclear how exactly any contractor might sniff out someone's "proclivity for violence." The ICE document states only that the contractor will use "social and behavioral sciences" and "psychological profiles" to accomplish its automated threat detection.
Once flagged, the system will further scour a target's internet history and attempt to reveal their real-world position and offline identity. In addition to compiling personal information—such as the Social Security numbers and addresses of those whose posts are flagged—the contractor will also provide ICE with a "photograph, partial legal name, partial date of birth, possible city, possible work affiliations, possible school or university affiliation, and any identified possible family members or associates."
The document also requests "facial recognition capabilities that could take a photograph of a subject and search the internet to find all relevant information associated with the subject." The contract contains specific directions for targets found in other countries, implying the program would scan the domestic speech of American citizens.
"Careful what you post," Biddle warned in a social media post promoting his article.
ICE is already monitoring social media posts via contractor Giant Oak, which was hired during the first Trump administration and former Democratic President Joe Biden's term. However, "the goal of this [new] contract, ostensibly, is focused more narrowly on threats to ICE leadership, agents, facilities, and operations," according to Biddle.
Cinthya Rodriguez, an organizer with the immigrant rights group Mijente, told Biddle that "the current administration's attempt to use this technology falls within the agency's larger history of mass surveillance, which includes gathering information from personal social media accounts and retaliating against immigrant activists."
"ICE's attempt to have eyes and ears in as many places as we exist both online and offline should ring an alarm for all of us," Rodriguez added.
The search for expanded ICE social media surveillance comes as President Donald Trump's administration is carrying out what the Republican leader has promised will be the biggest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been deporting migrants on military flights, with some deportees imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, the notorious offshore U.S. military prison in Cuba.
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Salma al-Shehab Freed After Serving Years in Saudi Prison for Tweets
One advocate stressed that al-Shehab's "full freedom must now be granted, including the right to travel to complete her studies" at Leeds University in England.
Feb 10, 2025
Human rights defenders on Monday welcomed the release of Salma al-Shehab—who was once sentenced to 34 years in prison after she amplified social media posts promoting women's rights—and called on authorities to restore her right to travel so she can return to her doctoral studies at Leeds University in England.
Al-Shehab, a 36-year-old mother of two and women's rights activist, was arrested in 2021 while vacationing in Saudi Arabia and imprisoned for nearly 10 months in solitary confinement before being tried for reposting messages from activists on the social media site then known as Twitter.
"Saudi Arabia's authorities must now ensure she is not subjected to a travel ban or any further punitive measures."
In March 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced al-Shehab to six years behind bars. However, the prosecution appealed and the SCC extended her sentence to 34 years, sparking international condemnation and growing calls for al-Shehab's release. Al-Shehab's sentence was subsequently reduced twice, first to 27 and then to four years following a 2024 retrial. At one point, al-Shehab and seven other imprisoned women went on a hunger strike protest.
"Salma al-Shehab's ordeal in prison is finally over," Amnesty International Middle East researcher Dana Ahmed said in a statement Monday. "For more than four years she has been subjected to one gross injustice after another including at one point being handed an egregious 34-year prison sentence for her social media posts."
"She spent almost 300 days in prolonged solitary confinement, was denied legal representation, and was then repeatedly convicted on terrorism charges and handed a decadeslong sentence," Ahmed added. "All just because she tweeted in support of women's rights and retweeted Saudi women's rights activists. Saudi Arabia's authorities must now ensure she is not subjected to a travel ban or any further punitive measures."
While there have been improvements during the de facto rule of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—women can now drive, get their own passports, travel abroad, and live independently without the permission of a male guardian, to name but a few developments—critics contend that the kingdom remains one of the world's most repressed societies, especially for women and religious minorities. Al-Shehab is Shia Muslim, a group that has long faced severe discrimination in the Sunni-majority kingdom.
Human rights advocates called on Saudi authorities to free other women imprisoned for their online activism.
"While today is a day to celebrate Salma's release, it's also an opportunity to reflect on the many others serving similarly lengthy sentences in Saudi Arabia for their activities online," said Ahmed. "This includes other women such as such as Manahel al-Otaibi, and Noura al-Qahtani, jailed for speaking out for women's rights, and Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, jailed for 20 years for satirical tweets."
"We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and end their relentless crackdown on the right to freedom of expression once and for all," Ahmed added.
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'Polarization' Is a Weapon the Wealthy and Corporate Forces Use Against Us
We Americans have an obligation to each other and future generations to take on the root causes behind our suffering.
Feb 10, 2025
How often do I hear friends and political commentators lamenting America’s polarized culture. “Polarization” is so commonplace that it was Merriam Webster’s 2024 word of the year. Whether it’s Democrats v. Republican, Conservative v. Liberal, Right v. Left, or Red v. Blue, the feeling conveyed is that we’re simply stuck in opposing camps, sharing little common ground.
Yes, of course, these labels capture real differences. But thinking that our opposing “poles” are our real problem can deter us from seeing solutions or even believing positive change is possible. The truth is, we’re less divided than we imagine ourselves to be.
Plus, “polarization” feels fixed—discouraging us from probing deeply the forces that underlie our differences—forces that we can indeed address.
When we dig in, our hunch is that much of today’s painful divide arises from economic forces and realities that aren’t front-and-center in Americans’ view of our nation. Exposing this reality could release energy for much-needed action.
The truth is, we’re less divided than we imagine ourselves to be.
Of course, Americans are aware of class differences, but we assume that they are more-or-less static—just the way it’s long been—and at least close to the norm in other democracies.
Few of us likely appreciate that we are a global outlier in the depth of our economic disparity—coming in more extreme than roughly 120 nations and far below our peers. Consider this: Three Americans control more wealth than bottom half of us which together hold only 2 percent.
Deep inequality threatens democracy itself. History suggests that if wealth is concentrated at the top, the moneyed elite will infect and distort the political process in its favor, thus undermining democracy.
Combine these realities: First, the inherent hardships—daily stress, lack of leisure as well as the real deprivations of so many Americans, including our low-minimum wage, the dangerously poor-quality of our most-affordable diets, and our failure to assure access to healthcare for everyone. Then add to all that the long-sung tune that anyone with drive and decent character can “make it” in our free market system.
And what do you get?
Painful self-blame and fear…and, yes, exhaustion. Understandably, then, we seek someone to blame—a tragic pattern that has been repeated throughout history.
Take the 1863 New York City "draft" riots, during which poor, white (mostly Irish) workers feeling the pressure of exploitation and poverty took their anger out against New York’s Black population in the one of the most significant insurrections in U.S. history. The draft riots are a grave warning of what can happen when two disenfranchised groups are pitted against each other. Division is sowed where unity and solidarity are most needed.
Hitler’s rise to power is another terrifying tale of how scapegoating minority groups can be a potent—and devastating—political strategy, especially during times when citizens are struggling to make ends meet and a country is in a period of unrest.
Today, the president of our nation is successfully casting himself as a big, angry man who names our oppressors and will fight against the bad guys for the rest of us. Trump has targeted immigrants, spreading dangerous lies and authorizing deeply damaging policies. Likewise, he has taken swift action to disenfranchise transgender people, justifying it through harmful rhetoric.
Donald J. Trump’s core demeanor is anger. So, it’s understandable that many believe he’ll use his loudmouth to fight for them. Casting himself as an outsider is brilliant.
Of course, his policies belie his pose. They hurt the most vulnerable and reward the most powerful. Beyond his attacks on immigrants and trans people, here are just a few: Trump's attempted federal funding freeze could severely impede early childhood education, infrastructure projects, and social-benefit organizations. He has also promised to limit SNAP benefits and cut healthcare spending—all while expanding tax cuts primarily benefiting the wealthiest. In addition, he’s rolled back environmental protections.
Sadly, Trump’s posturing and scapegoating effectively engage many Americans. But, getting stuck on what feels like an insurmountable chasm does not serve us. Progress comes when we focus on our common ground and go from there.
So what can we do? Remember: We are all influencers. Each of us can share what we know with family, friends, and colleagues. They are likely to do the same. Hey, we never know the ripples of our own courage to speak out.
We can fight destructive disinformation on social media that the president and his now right-hand man Elon Musk have weaponized.
We can reach out to our representatives in government, helping them find the courage to take on the painful realities of extreme inequity and the false messaging pitting us against each other.
Blaming “polarization” is a dangerous distraction. It is a symptom of our real problems. We Americans have an obligation to each other and future generations to take on the root causes behind our suffering.
It’s still a new year. Let’s make it a new beginning as well.
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