Authorities like to be tuned in.
(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)
Safety has rather become the mantra of authorities over the last few years.
Government exists, so we’re told, to keep the people safe. As opposed to, say, happy, employed, strong, proud or free.
A school district in Southern California is also committed to the safety of its kids. And, given that social media sites are where kids are at these days, it’s decided to keep tabs on every single public post its kids are making.
Naturally, the Glendale Unified School District doesn’t have the time to do this itself. So it’s hired an outside company to do its tab-keeping for it.
As CBS Los Angeles reports, the district chose Geo Listening, a company that specializes in following kids’ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube feeds.
“The whole purpose is student safety,” the district’s superintendent Richard Sheehan told CBS.
So now every single piece of social blurting is now being watched by Big Geo.
Sheehan explained that the system works by looking for keywords. He gave examples of how potentially suicidal… [Read more]
Related Links:
NSA ‘secret backdoor’ paved way to U.S. phone, e-mail snooping
FBI pressures Internet providers to install surveillance software
Google Glass on loan as movie-making tool
Justice Department slip names Google in data demands case
App turns old iPhones, iPads into a home security system
