US law enforcement agencies and Voyager Labs are coming up with new tricks for online investigations.
The NYPD is working with Voyager Labs, which is accused of illegally collecting information from online platforms.
Voyager Labs, as the researchers suggest, analyzes the behavior of users on the Internet using artificial intelligence. Their software allows you to quickly process large amounts of data, helping investigators identify and stop illegal activity. STOP, a nonprofit privacy rights organization, managed to study documents that mention a contract with the authorities worth almost $ 8.5 million. It turned out that the document was signed in 2018.
In January 2023, Voyager Labs faced a lawsuit from the tech giant Meta*. The company is accused of tracking the activity of about 600,000 Facebook users through 40,000 fake accounts.
The Queens District Attorney's Office is also working with Israeli firm Cobwebs Technologies, which offers similar products.
It is not yet clear how exactly the Voyager Labs tools help the police, but it is known that they allow them to hide under fake social media profiles. This is one of the main "chips".
In New York , a bill prohibiting such practices is currently being considered - "Stop Online Police Fake Accounts and Keep Everyone Safe" (STOP FAKES).
"This is an invasion of privacy, it bothers people and should be prohibited by law. Our constitution requires law enforcement agencies to request a warrant before conducting a search. But increasingly, the police and prosecutors are just buying our data." - says Will Owen, director of STOP. He added that previously, such mechanisms mainly targeted African-Americans and Latinos, including children.
Analyzing the information available online can help in the investigation of many serious crimes, so there are also positive aspects. However, experts warn that the method should be used with caution, and this applies not only to the US authorities.
The NYPD is working with Voyager Labs, which is accused of illegally collecting information from online platforms.
Voyager Labs, as the researchers suggest, analyzes the behavior of users on the Internet using artificial intelligence. Their software allows you to quickly process large amounts of data, helping investigators identify and stop illegal activity. STOP, a nonprofit privacy rights organization, managed to study documents that mention a contract with the authorities worth almost $ 8.5 million. It turned out that the document was signed in 2018.
In January 2023, Voyager Labs faced a lawsuit from the tech giant Meta*. The company is accused of tracking the activity of about 600,000 Facebook users through 40,000 fake accounts.
The Queens District Attorney's Office is also working with Israeli firm Cobwebs Technologies, which offers similar products.
It is not yet clear how exactly the Voyager Labs tools help the police, but it is known that they allow them to hide under fake social media profiles. This is one of the main "chips".
In New York , a bill prohibiting such practices is currently being considered - "Stop Online Police Fake Accounts and Keep Everyone Safe" (STOP FAKES).
"This is an invasion of privacy, it bothers people and should be prohibited by law. Our constitution requires law enforcement agencies to request a warrant before conducting a search. But increasingly, the police and prosecutors are just buying our data." - says Will Owen, director of STOP. He added that previously, such mechanisms mainly targeted African-Americans and Latinos, including children.
Analyzing the information available online can help in the investigation of many serious crimes, so there are also positive aspects. However, experts warn that the method should be used with caution, and this applies not only to the US authorities.
