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Twitter's recruitment drive among federal agents
- mensetmanusman 4y agoDozens hired of a >7500 workforce amounting to ~0.5%. Is that alarming?
- trident5000 4y agoyes
- refurb 4y agoI mean yeah? Why would a social media company hire dozens of former federal law enforcement agencies? What’s the rationale?
- paulpauper 4y agoTo help catch sex offenders, I imagine. Terrorism, drugs...stuff like that.
- vuln 4y ago“think of the children!!!”
- themitigating 4y agoYes, actually in this case that's a valid reason and your attempt to use it as a counter argument is wrong
- fshbbdssbbgdd 4y agoAnti-abuse, which every internet platform has to do, has a lot of overlap with intelligence/investigation work. Let’s say you want to indentify: 1. Covert networks of fake accounts on your site that are run by hostile governments attempting to destabilize a country 2. Human traffickers attempting to lure teenagers across national borders where they will be sold into slavery etc… You could probably benefit from having former FBI agents on your team. Even if you don’t care about doing the right thing, the bad press and government scrutiny you will get from those problems is a lot worse than this article.
- briantakita 4y agoIf the FBI was so effective at these problems, why are these problems so rampant? Could it be that the FBI is too effective at these problems? They have enough funding to run many operations...
- themitigating 4y agoWhat problems are rampant and compared to what?
- mattnewton 4y agoIsn’t this like asking why we still have fires if firefighters are so good at putting them out?
- s1artibartfast 4y agoWhy would a private company that has issues with fires and complying with fire codes ever want to hire a firefighter?
- mattnewton 4y agoMitigation? Lots of possibilities, this doesn’t seem strange to me (other than the company seems to be unable to control their fires, which is unusual for real companies outside of analogies) Anyways, the metaphor is pretty strained at this point, I just meant that the idea that the FBI doesn’t work against these things because they still exist is nonsensical to me.
- kube-system 4y agoBecause people don’t want their stuff burning down? https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736715592/the-private-firefighter-industry https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736715592/the-private-firefig...
- tfsh 4y ago"why are people still sick if hospitals exist?"
- kube-system 4y agoBecause they are candidates with experience in investigating many of the same problems that plague their platform.
- refurb 4y agoInvestigate how? Isn’t that the governments job? I assume Twitter has IP addresses and account info to turn over to law enforcement. Or are you suggesting Twitter take on a part of normal law enforcement activities?
- kube-system 4y agoTwitter (and all large websites with user contributions) have users who abuse their services, and they hire people who work to mitigate or otherwise address those issues. Some issues may have legal concerns and necessitate cooperation with authorities, some do not. It depends on the nature of the issue.
- refurb 4y agoI mean banks have users who abuse their services. You hire risk compliance people and forensic accountants, but do they hire a crew of FBI to investigate financial crimes?
- kube-system 4y agoYes, banks do this. If you are an expert in analyzing financial fraud, this skill is useful to both the FBI and banks.
- quantified 4y agoDoesn't make sense. I mean, it's not like they ever need to find out who's been attempting or succeeding in taking over accounts.
- xpe 4y agoThey might need help detecting sarcasm.
- quantified 4y agoSince that evades automation, I expect they might. If they care. The "I was just being sarcastic" was an enormous lie during the 2016 election cycle, though. Detecting lies is probably higher on their list.
- xpe 4y agoRight? When someone tries to arbitrarily revise their meaning after the fact, it strains credibility. I like the phrase: "Mean what you say and say what you mean". It isn't perfect, nor fool proof, but it has a lot of value. It might not result in the boldest, wittiest, funniest, most sarcastic phrases, but I personally am not optimizing to keep myself in the spotlight, energize my base, or shock+offend non-supporters.* * "Shock and awe-fend" perhaps?
- pessimizer 4y agoThe social networks are filling themselves with spooks. Internet companies are going to be more intertwined with government than banks, especially because their specialties are so widely applicable in government functions. Virtually every government project has a data or tech element, so potential contracting is unlimited. Some tech companies could really replace entire agencies (under a failing, corrupt government.) Some startups should really start making that offer. Pitch that your startup should be responsible for regulating beef and monitoring compliance.
- themitigating 4y agoWhat proof do you have this is happening?
- samhyde69 4y ago
- themitigating 4y agoWhat's your theory then?
- woevdbz 4y agoPhysical security and insider threat management for one thing. All big companies tend to hire for these positions from the ranks of law enforcement. Look up literally any company in the fortune 500 and look at the experience of the chief of security - they don't tend to come with PhDs from Stanford. Moreover Twitter is a target of many government agencies around the world, extremists groups of various shades, and disgruntled randos who believe the Californian elite is stifling their favorite brand of hate. It takes organization and expertise to operate safely within that kind of threat.
- pessimizer 4y agoThey're not hiring them as janitors or cooks, so isn't that 7,500 number pretty irrelevant? If they switch CEOs, we could call it a 0.00013% turnover, but that would also be silly.
- xpe 4y ago> They're not hiring them as janitors or cooks, so isn't that 7,500 number pretty irrelevant? It is good enough estimate, certainly good enough to support the "Dozens hired of a >7500 workforce amounting to ~0.5%. Is that alarming?" argument. If you want, make a guess that Twitter has 1% of its headcount as janitors and cooks. Then revise 7,500 to ~7,425. The resulting math will vary about 1%. Peanuts. > If they switch CEOs, we could call it a 0.00013% turnover, but that would also be silly. Facepalm. The comment is unrelated, a strawman, and laughably argued. Take a mulligan and try again?
- BooneJS 4y agoOn the other hand, federal employees are not paid very well and live in a high-cost area. Some are true believers, making their country or the world better by being a public servant and will stay for 40 years. Many leave because they've made their contribution or checked that box and move on to get a job that can better put their kids through college.
- ceeplusplus 4y agoAnd that's fine, because we need more mixing of ideas between government and the private sector, rather than government operating with no idea of how to operate a business [1] and businesses operating with no regard for downstream impacts. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-business-experience-needed-joe-biden-white-house-officials-committee-to-unleash-prosperity-report-11657661328 https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-business-experience-needed-j...
- smallmouth 4y agoIIRC there are actual documents/comms between the current administration and twitter regarding the request for removal of content and contributors. I believe that this makes twitter a de facto NGO and therefore they should be subject to the enforcement of the first amendment.
- tjr225 4y agoIf you recall correctly.
- quantified 4y agoThey certainly are a non-government organization, just like General Motors and the Republican party. As such, their freedom of speech is certainly enforced.
- anon291 4y agoYou're right. Twitter can do what it wants. However if there's a government agent attempting to tell Twitter how to control speech then that government agent needs to be censured and any administration involvement ended.
- wmf 4y agohttps://alexberenson.substack.com/p/the-white-house-privately-demanded https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/the-white-house-privatel... This case is far from clear-cut but it does appear that pressure was applied.
- xpe 4y ago> I believe that this makes twitter a de facto NGO and therefore they should be subject to the enforcement of the first amendment. Is this belief formed by research (i.e. laws, regulations, and cases)? Please share if so.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
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- kube-system 4y ago> one sign of a growing “revolving door” between the FBI and the entities it seeks to regulate. The FBI does not regulate social media.
- Proven 4y ago
- beaned 4y agoKey word being seeks
- kube-system 4y agoI’m not aware of any instances of that, but regardless, it wouldn’t matter, as they have no regulatory power.
- themitigating 4y agoWhat evidence do you have this is a goal of the FBI?
- xpe 4y agoHere I'm going to put aside the issue of what the FBI can (or "wants" to) regulate. Clearly, they investigate. Social media is at times connected with criminal activity, so the FBI is going to ask questions. It makes sense that social media companies would like to have internal expertise too. It might be used to streamline the process, to reduce risk, to push back against perceived overreach, to help PR, to listen to the grape vine, and more.
- SllX 4y agoThey’re a police force. The FBI enforce laws, not write them. This is a potentially interesting story though, but not because of some kind of revolving door between the pencil-pushing swamp creatures and the fog breathing code monkeys.
- 4y ago
- gsatic 4y agoWho is the FBI hiring? Have to say netflix shows have shaped my view of the world and I can't believe anyone would want to go work there in 2022.
- xpe 4y ago> Have to say netflix shows have shaped my view of the world ... I'm glad you recognize one influence. > ... and I can't believe anyone would want to go work there in 2022. You know that Agent Petty (in Ozark) is not representative of FBI agents, right? :) Are you exaggerating? Can you not imagine a person who would want to fight crime at the federal level?
- themitigating 4y agoWhy would readily admit you base some of your views of the world from TV. In the past people would be embarrassed by this fact and not admit it
- xpe 4y agoI appreciated their openness. Embarrassment often blocks people from admitting ignorance and learning. So, why be embarrassed?
- themitigating 4y agoHe didn't admit he was wrong or that it was ignorant
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- defrost 4y ago> Many former FBI officials hold influential roles within [ insert company name ]. > For instance, in 2020, Matthew W. left a 15-year career as an intelligence program manager at the FBI to take up the post of senior director of product trust at [ insert company name ] I would certainly hope so, it'd be a waste of talent if people with that much experience behind them didn't end up with significant roles elsewhere.
- nojonestownpls 4y agoIt would be very interesting to see a parallel universe version of this thread where the subject was a Chinese company and a Chinese intelligence agency.
- themitigating 4y agoThey are two different governments. If I wrote a negative review for the movie "Argo" would you reply "Imagine if this review was about Star Wars"
- kornhole 4y agoIntelligence agencies would be negligent if they weren't putting their people in key positions at large tech companies. I can guarantee that nobody affiliated with any ABC agencies has any influence on my Mastodon server.
- xpe 4y ago> I can guarantee that nobody affiliated with any ABC agencies has any influence on my Mastodon server. I take your point, but why poke the beast?
- kornhole 4y agoMine is one of thousands. I am sure they are already in a quandary of how to deal with the fediverse. They have to work much harder there.
- xpe 4y agoBut there are some security risks in common, due to common source code and some shared notions of trust -- or at least a protocol for trust -- right? (Sorry, I admit I have much to learn about Mastodon.)
- kornhole 4y agoAnything can be hacked, but the thousands of instances are behind different server and network configurations. These instances typically contain anonymous users with nothing but social media posts. Generally it is not worth the effort to hack. Important thing is that each instance has its own rules and moderators.
- r721 4y ago>This story originally appeared in MintPress News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MintPress_News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MintPress_News
- heynowheynow 4y agoTRNN and MPN are rags. This article is trash.
- woevdbz 4y agoThis looks like a right wing disinformation site. The implication is that Twitter (in readers' minds the incarnation of oppressive liberal media) is somehow colluding with FBI deep state chimera to stifle freedom of speech. This is what conservatives in America resort to: allying themselves with white supremacists doesn't help them win elections, so when they lose, it's always supposedly the fault of fraud, federal government rigging the scales, and coastal elites. Aside from the fact that FBI does not regulate media (nor anyone in the US either TBH) I'm quite sure that on balance, there are more FBI agents going to traditionally right wing businesses with lots of political influence as well (energy, military contractors, etc.). In insurgency terms, this is textbook sapping of institutions, and honestly I say f these f'ers.
- ddingus 4y agoThis site is not right wing disinformation. They are independent journalists who are open and frank about their intent. https://therealnews.com/about/our-team https://therealnews.com/about/our-team Our mission The Real News Network (TRNN) makes media connecting you to the movements, people, and perspectives that are advancing the cause of a more just, equal, and livable planet. We broaden your understanding of the issues, contexts, and voices behind the news headlines. We are rigorous in our journalism and dedicated to the facts, but unafraid to engage alongside movements for change, because we believe journalism and media making has a critical role to play in illuminating pathways for collective action. That’s why we make media engaging people not as a passive audience of consumers and spectators, but as active—or soon-to-be activated—participants in the struggle for a better world. Our platform highlights the voices and ideas not just of academics and pundits, but grassroots participants in social movements for change: the people on the frontlines of fights against injustice.
- kube-system 4y agoTRRN is a left leaning publication. Citing the mission statement of any publication is silly. If a publication has bias or accuracy issues, the same would also extend to their mission statement.
- ncmncm 4y agoThe main activity of senior FBI and spooks alike has always been extortion. What exactly is done with it varies. For FBI, it may include coercing aid to recruit into "terrorist cells" that may then be prosecuted, or coercing false testimony, i.e. perjury, in criminal cases. Among spooks, coercion is used to operate networks of "assets" for information gathering or covert action, often for official purposes, but not at all necessarily so. "Classified" offers a big tent. So, Twitter's interest in FBI and spooks will be to leverage their skills operating on information Twitter has unique access to. This could be a much more lucrative business than advertising. Of course this makes Twitter useful directly to the spook agencies for their own purposes, another revenue source.
- sys_64738 4y agoI’m surprised these folk so readily advertise the roles they had before Twitter. If you are going through a foreign airport then your name might be on a watchlist to see if a foreign nation detains you. No longer being a federal agent means you’re just like the rest of us. Forgotten and expendable.
- dangerobinson 4y ago