US: Micro blogging site Twitter on Thursday has announced that it has cut off all geospatial intelligence data that is formerly being sold to police intelligence centers, also known as fusion centers. Dataminr, a data analytics firm, which is partially owned by Twitter, provided the geospatial intelligence tool to the country’s police, which provide authorities the access to Twitter’s live data feed or “firehose”.
Dataminr introduced the system in March, and the ACLU of Northern California found evidence that at least one center had access to it for months afterwards. After a review, Twitter confirmed the news on Thursday that the tool is no longer in use by any such agencies.
“Our long-standing position has been that the use of Twitter data for surveillance is strictly prohibited,” the company said in a statement, “and we continue to expand our enforcement efforts.”
Dataminr has a number of law enforcement clients, but has often struggled with Twitter’s anti-surveillance policy, cancelling a CIA contract earlier this year over similar concerns. Still, the company has continued to provide some data to law enforcement clients through a more limited version of the tool.
The company explained the limitations in a statement today, included in Twitter’s response:
We offer a limited version of our product, which provides tailored breaking news alerts based on public Tweets, to those supporting the mission of first response. This product does not provide customers with their own direct firehose access or features to export data; the ability to search raw historical Tweet archives or to target or profile users; conduct geospatial analysis; or any form of surveillance.
Even without the restrictions on government clients, a Dataminr representative told The Verge that the company has never offered any product enabling direct firehose access, exporting bulk Twitter data, or searching historical tweet archives. As a result, the primary difference in Dataminr’s government product is the removal of the geospatial analysis system introduced in March.
According to Twitter’s statement, the limited product was developed this year in response to the platform’s surveillance concerns, as a specific alert service that could be sold to government agencies without triggering surveillance concerns. “Together, we have worked towards a focused Dataminr breaking news alert product,” Twitter said in its statement, “for the purpose of first responders learning about news and events as early as possible.”
Dataminr drew controversy earlier this year over a proposed contract with the FBI. At the time, the company clarified that the contract was for a limited breaking-news product, although the limitations of the product were not fully known at the time.
