(WASHINGTON TIMES) — The Department of Homeland Security monitors social media websites such as Twitter for breaking news of major disasters or other events, but generally doesn’t collect information about the people who post on them, officials said Thursday.
“It’s the what, not the who, that we are concerned with,” Mary Ellen Callahan, Homeland Security’s chief privacy officer, told a congressional hearing.
Ms. Callahan sought to allay lawmakers’ concerns about the department’s monitoring of social media, which she said is done principally to check for breaking news of disasters or attacks and as part of the agency’s outreach and public communications efforts.