DHS Databases & Speech

by | October 7, 2009 | First Amendment | Comments Off

Comparative Case Studies of Radical Rhetoric, according to the government’s own description, “is a research effort funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T), Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences Division (HFD). The goal of the research project is to determine whether various characteristics of the rhetoric expressed by groups are related to the groups’ likelihood of engaging in violent extremist activity. Researchers will collect personally identifiable information during this research effort.”

Let’s repeat that. This is an analysis of pure rhetoric, performed upon expression that is connected to personally identifiable information, in order to arrive at predictive conclusions about people who express that kind of rhetoric. Needless to say, the program raises some troublesome First Amendment worries.

The program analyzes papers, speeches, and publications of various groups. On a new media note, it will also analyze content on the political party Hizb ut-Tahrir‘s website.

The DHS’s Privacy Impact Assessment of the program can be found here.

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