Thread by @privacyint

NEW! Would you like your local government to judge you by your Facebook activity?

In our report we found out that councils in Great Britain are looking at people’s social media accounts as part of their investigation tactics. [thread and resources ahead]
privacyinternational.org/long-read/3586…

We found out that local authorities are now using social media monitoring in areas such as council tax payments, children’s services, benefits and monitoring protests.
Is your data fair game?

Read the full report privacyinternational.org/sites/default/…

Many people could be targeted, including migrant families.
@Project17UK told us that "It is common for families with no recourse to public funds who attempt to access support from local authorities to have their social media monitored."

Who is a target?
privacyinternational.org/explainer/3587…

How did we do it? We used the platform @WhatDoTheyKnow to send FOIA requests to each of the 251 local authorities in Great Britain. You can read the responses here: whatdotheyknow.com/info_request_b…

This is our methodology: privacyinternational.org/report/3530/me…

We also sent a letter to the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (@IPCOffice ) asking them to review the position and introduce further regulation of social media monitoring:

privacyinternational.org/advocacy/3841/…

Finally: while we may post publicly, we don't expect local authorities to look at our photos, screenshot our thoughts, and use this without our knowledge to make decisions that could have serious consequences for us.

Learn more here: privacyinternational.org/campaigns/when…