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Twitter won't share tweets with law enforcement data hubs
Twitter is still determined to avoid facilitating mass surveillance by spies and law enforcement. The company has told Dataminr, a firm it partly owns, to stop sharing tweets with the 77 law enforcement fusion centers (that is, data hubs where agencies share info and make connections) in the US. This doesn't prevent police from sifting through Twitter posts, but it certainly makes their work harder. The centers won't have ready access to "billions" of tweets they can pass on to the federal government for spying purposes, according to the ACLU.
FBI using Twitter's raw 'firehose' data to monitor users
The FBI is using a Twitter tool called Dataminr to track criminals and terrorist groups, according to documents spotted by The Verge. In a contract document, the agency says Dataminr's Advanced Alerting Tool allows it "to search the complete Twitter firehose, in near real-time, using customizable filters." However, the practice seems to violate Twitter's developer agreement, which prohibits the use of its data feed for surveillance or spying purposes.
Twitter blocks US spies from analyzing your tweets
There's more tension between tech firms and the US government, as Twitter has reportedly blocked spy agencies from a service that helps them root out terrorists. According to the WSJ, the social network cut off the government from Dataminr, a company that analyzes every public tweet sent. Though Twitter doesn't own the service (it has a five percent share), it does provide it with unique access to its central data line. Neither Twitter nor Dataminr have confirmed the details publicly, but unnamed intelligence officials have corroborated the story.
Twitter tool that breaks news in real-time now open in US
Twitter's more than just a way to update anyone who cares to listen on what you're doing. Not only can you ask it life's nagging/profound questions, you can use it to buy yourself a snood, if you wish. But, there are more serious tasks that Twitter's constant stream of mini-missives can assist with -- such as breaking news. Back in January, we heard about Dataminr for News -- a service for journalists that identifies stories as they break on Twitter. Now, it's ready for prime time. Initially, CNN had been trialling the tool, but that pool of newsrooms has since extended to the BBC, The Weather Channel, USA Today and beyond. Finally it's open to any news room that wants to harness the 500,000,000 public Tweets per day that Dataminr claims it parses to distill into news. Dataminr for News is available through Tweetdeck integration, and a dedicated mobile app, and not only highlights stories, but adds context and estimated locations to events as more information flows in. Now your social media activism might have a quicker route to the media's gaze.
Twitter tool tells journalists what's BREAKING!
We've known for sometime that Twitter is looking to make a move in the news game, but what that would look like was still unclear. Today, the blue bird's intentions are starting to look a bit more concrete, with the announcement of Dataminr for News, a tool that pinpoints and alerts journalists of breaking news before every Joe with a dot com is tweeting about it. The tool, created in partnership with NY startup Dataminr, uses machine-learning algorithms to identify big and reliable stories and alert journalists via email, mobile alerts and other means. It will also provide detailed information about the origins and sources behind the information. According to The Verge, CNN has used Dataminr tools for months and is already seeing some payoff: It claims to produce at least two stories a day sourced from the service. The new initiative feeds into the "me first" media culture that has seen hoaxes rise to the top of Twitter as quickly as real breaking news stories. However, Dataminr claims that its algorithms cut through the bull shit by looking beyond the first tweet to find "corroborating sources on the ground" among other factors. According to TechCrunch, Dataminr CEO Ted Bailey said Dataminr for News will become available to all journalists for an undisclosed price later this year.
