This is how United States Immigration investigates migrants with fake profiles on social networks. What does meta say?

After it was reported that the Texas National Guard infiltrated WhatsApp groups to spy on migrants trying to cross the border, the press reports how United States Immigration is investigating immigrants with fake profiles on social networks.

A report, as published by Univisión, of more than 3,000 pages of documents obtained under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) shows a picture of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “largely focused on allowing its agents.” hide their identities while using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter –today X-, despite the intrusiveness of the practice”.

On this subject, The Guardian reported on documents that “immigration officials sought to expand their capabilities to monitor and control social network activity. enabled agents to create and use fake social media profiles in a wide variety of operations, including undercover investigations of the online presence of people seeking immigration benefits.”

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The more than 3,000 pages – which Univisión spoke about – provide “new evidence” about how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and the Customs and Border Control Agency (CBP) “regularly use fake social media accounts on various platforms for a variety of purposes. of operations.

The data was obtained through a request for open documents from the Brennan Center for Justice, according to The Guardian.

Officials, they noted, “have raised concerns about social networking sites’ policies prohibiting the use of fake profiles and discussed how to get around these rules.”

The U.S. Immigration Service publishes recommendations for completing the forms correctly

Do they spy?

The police, the British media say, have for years “used false narratives to spy on Black Lives Matter protesters; impersonate ordinary citizens and post comments attacking critics of law enforcement; and send Facebook friend requests to the targets of their investigations and then collect personal information without a digital search judge’s permission.

DHS agents “may use fake accounts to investigate those who are “applying for immigration benefits,” a document said, the press reported.

DHS’s practices were so concerning that they were even warned about a possible violation of the social network’s rules, the documents show.

Univisión cites the Brennan Center

These officers “may collect a wide variety of data, including physical addresses, relationship information, job and degree affiliations, and any social media posts that “contradict the information submitted by the applicant.”

What happens now? All information collected must be “stored” in the individual’s file, even if it is not considered “derogatory” according to the document.

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Concern on Facebook

Facebook officials have publicly opposed the practice of the Los Angeles and Memphis police departments, according to Univision, “and new data reveals a personal rebuke to DHS.”

Facebook has been drawn to DHS’ social media policies since March 2019, when a representative contacted DHS concerned that CBP has “expanded its use of social media platforms,” ​​The Guardian explains.

A DHS cybersecurity and innovation expert responded that CBP employees could “create accounts” to view public information and “review posts captured by monitoring tools to determine if they are relevant to situational awareness and security monitoring.” .

From Facebook, they pointed out “that any user posing as someone who was not present on the platform was breaking its rules. (…) As such, false profiling by any industry, including law enforcement, is against our standards.”

purpose is stated

In an email, DHS said they are “using various forms of technology to further their mission, including tools to support investigations related to, among other things, threats to infrastructure, illicit trafficking on the dark web, cross-border transnational crime and terrorism. (. ..)”.

Meta told The Guardian in response: “We require everyone, including law enforcement authorities, to use their real names in everyday life on Facebook and we make this policy clear in our community standards.”

“Our intention,” they insisted, “is to ensure that people can continue to use our platforms, free from illegal government surveillance or agents acting inauthentically.”

A policy document obtained by the Brennan Center says ICE agents can use a “fictitious identity” online if “procedures permit such communication in the physical world.”

Although these practices are “common” and controversial at the same time, it is believed that both the police and data companies can easily misinterpret information from social networks and use it as a weapon to criminalize people, the Brennan Center warns.

According to Rachel Levinson-Waldman, of the center mentioned above, “fake accounts are very susceptible to abuse. They are a powerful tool that can be very intrusive.” (JO)