Thu Aug 19, 2021 AT 10:21 AM EDT
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan demanded records and a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Thursday over the agency’s proposed use of third-party firms to spy on Americans.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday DHS plans to contract with private companies for monitoring citizen activity on social media after intelligence failed to properly prepare law enforcement for the violence that ensued at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
“The effort, which remains under discussion and hasn’t received approval or funding,” the Journal reported, “would involve sifting through large flows of internet traffic to help identify online narratives that might provide leads on developing attacks, whether from home or abroad.”
Jordan, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Thursday that the department’s use of outside firms to spy “would have serious consequences for the civil liberties of all Americans.” … Read Full Story