U.S. Post Office to brief lawmakers on its covert surveillance program
The head of the U.S. Post Office law enforcement division running a covert social media collection program is expected to brief lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday morning about its surveillance work.
Yahoo News last week revealed the existence of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Internet Covert Operations Program, known as iCOP, which has been monitoring social media for information about political protests. The work involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what one Post Office intelligence bulletin describes as “inflammatory” postings and then sharing that information across government and law enforcement agencies.
“Analysts with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) monitored significant activity regarding planned protests occurring internationally and domestically on March 20, 2021,” says the March 16 intelligence bulletin, marked as “law enforcement sensitive” and distributed through the Department of Homeland Security’s fusion centers.
The bulletin obtained by Yahoo News focused on sites such as Parler, Telegram and Facebook known for hosting right-wing accounts. News of the program, and its apparent focus on right-wing activities, sparked an immediate outcry from Republican lawmakers, who demanded answers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-post-office-to-brief-lawmakers-on-its-covert-surveillance-program/ar-BB1g7q4f?li=BBnb7Kz
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