Among the scathing findings of an investigation launched after the police killing of George Floyd is that Minneapolis police used covert or bogus social media accounts to monitor Black individuals and groups despite having no clear public safety rationale for doing so.
The report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights echoes numerous past revelations that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have -- sometimes illegally -- secretly surveilled prominent people and communities of colour even though they weren't involved in any criminal activity.
Officers used "covert, or fake" accounts to seek and gain access to the online profiles of Black individuals including an unnamed City Council member and a state elected official, the report said, as well as groups such as the Minneapolis NAACP and Urban League. The activity included friend requests, comments on posts, private messages and participation in discussions.
But Minneapolis police fell well short of those standards, investigators determined, improperly using the accounts "to surveil and engage Black individuals, Black organizations, and elected officials unrelated to criminal activity, without a public safety objective." Minneapolis police spokesman Howie Padilla said his department was still digesting the document and declined further comment.
"What is happening in Minnesota is happening in many jurisdictions, because there are few rules in place and no accountability," Ferguson said. "Police rummage though social media without limits, turning our digital lives into sources of surveillance. It might feel less violent than some of the other police misconduct, but it is still violative and wrong."
And in California, the Brennan Center obtained records showing that third-party social media monitoring companies had pitched their services to the Los Angeles Police Department, including the ability to create furtive accounts for officers. While the city requires approval for some undercover online activity, Levinson-Waldman said, there are exceptions such as for threat assessments that allow officers to sidestep real oversight or accountability.
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