US Postal Inspection Service runs covert protestor monitoring programme

The US Postal Inspection Service (USP IS) ran a secret programme tracking social media users, including racial justice protestors, and creating fake identities, prompting concerns about its legality.

According to Yahoo!, USP IS' Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) used social media monitoring software to identity and track investigation targets, and shared that data with law enforcement agencies. The programme was carried out by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the USPS.

The report alleged that iCOP analysts began monitoring social media to track potential violence at racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd, and that the programme enabled USP IS staff to assume fake identities online and employ facial recognition software, including Clearview AI's facial recognition system.

The incident raised questions about the ethics and legality of USPS' targeting and collecting information on US citizens not suspected of any crime and with no connection to the post office.

➕ August 2021. Privacy group EPIC filed a lawsuit against the US Postal Service to block the use of facial recognition and social media monitoring tools under iCOP. 

➕ March 2022. EPIC's lawsuit was dismissed on the basis that EPIC did not suffer a 'cognizable injury in fact' from the Service’s unlawful refusal to disclose information about the programme.

➕ March 2022. A US Inspector General audit (pdf) of the iCOP programme concluded that the USP IS did not have the legal authority to conduct the sweeping intelligence collection and surveillance of American protesters and others between 2018 and 2021.

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• EPIC (2022). Postal Service Surveillance Program Targeted in EPIC Lawsuit ‘Exceeded’ Legal Authority, Inspector General Finds

• US District Court for the District of Colombia (2022). Opinion (pdf)

• EPIC (2022). Court Won’t Hear Merits of EPIC Suit Challenging Secret Postal Service Surveillance Program

• EPIC (2021). EPIC vs U.S. Postal Service 

• EPIC (2021). EPIC Sues Postal Service to Halt Use of Facial Recognition, Social Media Monitoring

Investigations, assessments, audits 🧐

• US Office of Inspector General (2022). U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Online Analytical Support Activities

• Yahoo News (2022). Inspector general says post office surveillance program exceeded legal authority

• Yahoo! News (2021). Facial recognition, fake identities and digital surveillance tools: Inside the post office's covert internet operations program

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7enk3/us-postal-inspection-service-icop-presentation

• https://www.salon.com/2021/04/21/is-the-post-office-spying-on-you-usps-covert-operations-may-monitor-social-media-posts/

• https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-running-covert-program-that-monitors-americans-social-media-per-report

• https://www.biometricupdate.com/202108/neither-ai-inaccuracy-nor-foia-requests-nor-human-rights-stays-usps-surveillance

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9595879/USPS-uses-facial-recognition-Clearview-AI-fake-identities-online-snoop-Americans.html

• https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/usps-reportedly-uses-clearview-ai

• https://www.dailydot.com/debug/post-office-facial-recognition-clearview-surveillance/

• https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14728133/us-postal-service-is-running-secret-program-called-icop/

• https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/republicans-usps-amorphous-intelligence-collecting-operation