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Law enforcement monitors black social media accounts more than whites
Research indicates law enforcement disproportionately focuses on and overrepresents Black individuals in social media monitoring and crime reporting, especially on platforms like Facebook, creating a perception of higher criminality, though this is often based on racial bias in content creation, not just monitoring. source
A significant study found police Facebook pages describe Black suspects in crime posts at a rate much higher (32%) than their share of actual arrests (20%), creating skewed public perception. source
Black suspects relative to arrest rates by approximately 25 percentage points, illustrating a racial imbalance in police communication which may reflect broader surveillance disparities.
While this does not directly equate to exact monitoring percentages, it underscores a systemic bias where Black social media presence is scrutinized and publicized more intensely than White counterparts. source
Which federal agencies use social media monitoring?
Many federal agencies use social media, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of State (State Department), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Marshals Service, and Social Security Administration (SSA). source
Read also: From COINTELPRO to Snapchat, Police Surveillance of Black People Is More Pervasive Than Ever, Minneapolis police used fake social media profiles to surveil Black people,
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