Social media surveillance is when information about a person or group is obtained by surveilling their activity on social media platforms.

It may include:

• Viewing the account and posts of a person or group online, with the intent of gathering information
• Engaging with a person or group online through their social media account, using either a real or fabricated identify
• Use of social media analysis tools to sort through online data and posts and to pull out information related to a person’s location, social network, key words or references they may have used, and other factors.

Social media accounts and hashtags may also be monitored with the intent of tracking, mapping, and criminalizing social networks. This may be related to a person, an organization, an event, an incident, or even an idea. Even after LAPD kills a person, their name, accounts, and any associated hashtags may be monitored to see what information may be gleaned about a person, their contacts, and their contacts’ activities - all after their death.

The companies that create and maintain social media platforms often aid law enforcement agencies in facilitating targeted surveillance. Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, introduced a function that allows law enforcement to freeze the accounts and store posts of individuals targeted for criminalization.

A graphic depicts six surveillance cameras, each with an icon for a social media app where the camera face would be. From left to right, top to bottom, the app icons are for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, Snapchat, and YouTube. Image source: eff.org

Who Uses Social Media Surveillance?

Below are some screenshots from LAPD’s Daily Social Media Reports about “intelligence” gathered from social media by LAPD, and further tracked and reported. Source: Records produced through a PRA request, shared on patreon.com:

Who Makes Technology for Social Media Surveillance? (Corporate Profiteers)

History of Social Media Surveillance at LAPD

More examples of LAPD’s Daily Social Media Reports. Source: Records produced through a PRA request, shared on patreon.com: