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DonViejo

(60,536 posts) Mon Mar 11, 2019, 09:13 AM Mar 2019

Trump Administration Aims To Use Facebook To Spy On People Collecting Disability

03/11/2019 07:00 am ET

The White House wants to crack down on fraud as applications for Social Security disability are plunging.

By Mary Papenfuss

The Trump administration has been quietly maneuvering to use Facebook and Twitter to spy on people collecting federal disability payments, The New York Times reported.

Social Security revealed in a budget request last year that it planned to study whether to use surveillance of social media to “expedite the identification of fraud,” according to the Times. The paper cited unnamed sources who said the White House and Social Security officials have been working since then to strengthen the proposal.

The aim is to use a form of federal surveillance to monitor social media posts of Social Security disability payment recipients to see whether they’re really disabled.

Critics say social media photos and posts may be a poor representation of someone’s disability. Judging a mental health issue from a photo, for example, would be nearly impossible.

More than 10 million people receive Social Security disability benefits worth more than $11 billion a month. Recipients have paid into the system through payroll taxes.

more
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-facebook-twitter-spying-disability_n_5c85eff8e4b0d9361629893a

5 replies

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Trump Administration Aims To Use Facebook To Spy On People Collecting Disability (Original Post) DonViejo Mar 2019 OP

And I'm sure "The Freedom Caucus" is all for this type of big government surveillance n/t Tom Rinaldo Mar 2019 #1

I don't know, these are public janterry Mar 2019 #2

Just post pictures of self in MAGA hat. This won't be abused. Nt lostnfound Mar 2019 #5

Greenwald and Snowden were unavailable for comment Blue_Tires Mar 2019 #3

All I know is that the police love Facebook and other social media hack89 Mar 2019 #4

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)

1. And I'm sure "The Freedom Caucus" is all for this type of big government surveillance n/t

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Mon Mar 11, 2019, 09:34 AM

Mar 2019

janterry

(4,429 posts)

2. I don't know, these are public

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Mon Mar 11, 2019, 09:55 AM

Mar 2019

IME, there is a lot of fraud in SSI/SSDI. I suppose if you post a picture of yourself.....let's say..... building a pool after getting your back pay (as did one of my clients, whose claim was that he could barely walk, couldn't lift anything - and was physically disabled, unable to do any kind of work). Well, that picture might be a starting point (not end point) for an investigation.

I agree it's big brother-ish, but if you were making a public post - well. It's public.