Law Enforcement in the Age of Big Data and Surveillance Intermediaries: Transparency Challenges

Abstract

In October 2016 Geofeedia made the news when it was reported that police services in North America had contracted with it for data analytics based on georeferenced information posted to social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook. Geofeedia is not the only data analytics company to mine social media data and to market its services to government authorities. These activities raise important issues around the transparency of state surveillance activities, as well as the targeting of protesters exercising their constitutional rights to free speech. This paper examines how the public sector reliance on purchased georeferenced data and analytics changes the dynamics of transparency of government action and calls for new measures and approaches.

Keywords: big data, transparency, data analytics, privacy, social media, social media data analytics, police, surveillance