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| Inspector general says post office surveillance program exceeded legal authority (Page 1/3) |
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blackrams
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APR 01, 05:13 AM
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Inspector general says post office surveillance program exceeded legal authority
https://www.aol.com/news/in...ffice-172808279.html
WASHINGTON — An inspector general probe into the U.S. Postal Service surveillance program, known as iCOP, concluded that the agency did not have the legal authority to conduct the sweeping intelligence collection and surveillance of American protesters and others between 2018 and 2021.
The Postal Service Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into iCOP — which stands for Internet Covert Operations Program — at the request of Congress in direct response to reporting from Yahoo News last year.
“We determined that certain proactive searches iCOP conducted using an open-source intelligence tool from February to April 2021 exceeded the Postal Inspection Service’s law enforcement authority,” the March 25, 2022, inspector general report stated.
“Furthermore, we could not corroborate whether other work analysts completed from October 2018 through June 2021 was legally authorized.”
The audit of the program was prompted by Yahoo News’ reporting that revealed the existence of the secret program, as well as its use of facial recognition software and other sophisticated technology and software to compile and disseminate reports on Americans’ online speech and movements. A March 16, 2021, iCOP intelligence bulletin on American protesters was widely circulated by the Department of Homeland Security to state, local and federal law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Yahoo News’ reporting on the program prompted outrage from lawmakers and constitutional experts, who questioned whether the post office had the legal authority to target and collect information on U.S. citizens not suspected of any crime and with no connection to the post office.
In April 2021, Yahoo News revealed the existence of the iCOP surveillance, which used analysts to trawl the internet looking for “inflammatory” posts about nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. A series of follow-up reports revealedfurther detailsabout the program, which had been operating without the oversight or even the knowledge of Congress. (Yahoo News has filed its own lawsuit to obtain additional records related to iCOP.)
“The Oversight Committee requested this report because of our significant concerns about intelligence activities conducted by the Postal Service Inspection Service’s analytics team related to First Amendment activity," Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, told Yahoo News in a Thursday statement. "The inspector general’s audit makes clear that the committee’s concerns were justified, and that the use of open-source intelligence by the analytics team ‘exceeded the Postal Inspection Service’s law enforcement authority.’"
Using sophisticated technology and software, iCOP was running keyword searches like “protest” on social media to collect online speech about a host of different events that contained no threats and had nothing to do with the Postal Service’s work.
The inspector general report notes that in April 2021 Postal Inspection Service lawyers asked iCOP to remove “protest” from its keyword searches “to protect constitutional rights.”
Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, told Yahoo News that the Postal Inspection Service had “lost their way.”
“At this point they might as well take their mission statement of protecting the Postal Service and its employees and throw it in the garbage,” Albergo said, arguing that not enough attention is being paid by the agency to the “mail theft epidemic” of postal property that was happening at the same time.
The 26-page report concluded that the post office did not have the legal authority to compile reports on Americans involved in Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the nation. The report also found across-the-board violations of statutory and legal authority ranging from lack of legal authority to noncompliance with federal records retention to use of facial recognition software. It also said there was no record-keeping policy or procedures in place to make sure the work was legal.
The report repeatedly stressed that the Postal Service’s surveillance efforts need a “postal nexus,” or a connection to the Postal Inspection Service’s work.
“The Postal Inspection Service’s activities must have an identified connection to the mail, postal crimes, or the security of Postal Service facilities or personnel (postal nexus) prior to commencing,” the report said.
“However, the keywords used for iCOP in the proactive searches did not include any terms with a postal nexus. Further, the postal nexus was not documented in 122 requests and 18 reports due to a lack of requirements in the program’s procedures. These issues occurred because management did not involve the Postal Inspection Service’s Office of Counsel in developing iCOP or its procedures.”
The inspector general made a series of recommendations, including a complete review and overhaul of the program and the analyst division under which it operates. Postal Service leadership responded to each recommendation, objecting to most of the report’s conclusions and arguing that it has the authority to conduct wide-ranging surveillance and intelligence collection on U.S. citizens — without needing a nexus to the post office. It agreed to review some of its policies after the completion of the internal review recommended by the inspector general.
“We strongly disagree with the overarching conclusion that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (Inspection Service) exceeded its legal authority and conducted improper intelligence searches,” the Postal Inspection Service wrote in response to the recommendations and findings of the inspector general audit. The response was included in the report.
Maloney, the Oversight Committee chair, said: "I fully support the Inspector General’s recommendation that Postal Service management perform a full review of the Analytics Team’s responsibilities, activities, and procedures, and I look forward to reviewing its result.”
Makes one wonder what else "Big Brother" is doing and watching............... 
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randye
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APR 01, 05:36 AM
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The USPS should have been abolished and shut down years ago.
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olejoedad
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APR 01, 09:12 AM
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Rams, if you can imagine it, it has already been going on for years.
We gave up privacy decades ago with the advent of the digital era.
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blackrams
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APR 01, 09:17 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by olejoedad:
Rams, if you can imagine it, it has already been going on for years.
We gave up privacy decades ago with the advent of the digital era. |
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Joe,
Yeah, I know. It's bad enough we're tracked in what we do and look at but, we give out way too much information on a daily basis.
But, I honestly had no idea the USPO was tracking us. Facial recognition was once thought to be a good thing but, just like every other tool, it can be used for good and bad.
Rams
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ray b
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APR 01, 03:57 PM
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started in 2018 I wonder who could have done that then
jimmy C
mr O
the much hated hill
or somebody else ?
ben franklin thought a post was a good idea
and yes we know our very nuttiest of the con's
want to sell the post to their buddys
just like our schools
they are working on the prison system also
there are very very good reasons to call them
THE DARK SIDE
THEY WORK HARD TO EARN THAT TITLE
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Fats
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APR 01, 04:42 PM
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The way I see it, things like this completely take away any argument the Left has about the Post Office being its own private entity.
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ray b
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APR 01, 04:50 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Fats:
The way I see it, things like this completely take away any argument the Left has about the Post Office being its own private entity.
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who was large and in charge of the executive branch in 2018
lets skip over that FACT
as we know they do not have any use for facts
when they can just make stuff up
about the US post under the failed leadership of the RUMP
MUST HAVE BEEN THOSE LIBS
COULDN'T BE THE RUMP------------------
Question wonder and be wierd
are you kind?
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randye
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APR 01, 10:39 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by ray b:
who was large and in charge of the executive branch in 2018
lets skip over that FACT
as we know they do not have any use for facts
when they can just make stuff up
about the US post under the failed leadership of the RUMP
MUST HAVE BEEN THOSE LIBS
COULDN'T BE THE RUMP
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As hard as it is to decipher your bizarre "haiku" bullshittery it looks like you might be trying to claim that former President Trump was somehow in charge of the USPS
The fact that you have absolutely NO CLUE who is in charge of the USPS is as unsurprising as your inability to communicate coherently.
I'd recommend one of those "speech to text" software programs for you but the results would very likely be worse because you first have to have a coherent idea to express and that kind of software can't fix that for you either.....[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-01-2022).]
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randye
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APR 01, 10:52 PM
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https://www.pbs.org/newshou...rs-of-financial-loss
That headline was from 2017 and the situation hasn't changed in the intervening 5 years, thus my "correction" of it.
On top of it being a financial disaster we now find out that it's operating as a "domestic spy agency".
How long would a prudent investor keep dumping money into a company that never turns a profit, always runs up huge deficits and seems to want to do everything other than what it's business charter is?
How long should US taxpayers be required to similarly invest in the corrupt, sinking ship that the USPS is?
It is WAY PAST TIME to flush that turd.[This message has been edited by randye (edited 04-01-2022).]
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ray b
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APR 01, 11:52 PM
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there is a HUGE problem with the Gop
they incapable of governing
they hate government and expect it to fail
radical randye said the post runs at a loss
HE LIES BY OMISSION
and fails to tell you the Gop set up the books that way
the pension structure is INSANE
[REQUIRES FULL PAYMENT TODAY FOR ALL FAR FUTURE PAYMENTS]
something no other corp or state government ever has done
pure gimmick
but the Gop is good at dirty tricks done dirt cheap
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