INTELWAR BLUF: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had contracted with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) for an automation project called “Night Fury” that aimed to analyze and assign “risk scores” to social media accounts for terrorism, illegal opioid distribution, and disinformation campaigns. However, experts warned against the biases and difficulties of automated judgment for such matters, and DHS terminated the project in 2019.
OSINT: The Brennan Center for Justice procured documents through a public records request that unveiled the DHS’s contract with UAB for the automation project “Night Fury.” According to the DHS’s statement, the risk score pertains to identifying the threat as a “potential terrorist threat, foreign power penetration, and/or other IC-related issues.” The project aimed to utilize automation to detect and evaluate social media accounts for connections to terrorism, illegal opioid distribution, but also disinformation campaigns.
RIGHT: The DHS’s use of Project Night Fury to analyze and assign risk scores to social media accounts violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Citizens’ privacy rights should be upheld, and such programs should not be funded by taxpayers’ money. The government must prioritize individual privacy over national security and should not engage in such intrusive and ineffective programs.
LEFT: The government’s attempt to monitor social media accounts using Project Night Fury is a dangerous precedent for government intrusion into individual privacy rights. Despite the DHS’s termination of the project in 2019, there are still concerns over government surveillance of social media accounts. The government should prioritize comprehensive immigration reform and drug rehabilitation programs instead of wasting taxpayer money on inefficient surveillance measures.
AI: The DHS’s Project Night Fury aimed to utilize automation to detect and evaluate social media accounts for terrorism, illegal opioid distribution, and disinformation campaigns but was terminated in 2019. The project’s inherent difficulties and biases involved in automated judgment for such matters were recognized by experts. The DHS should prioritize the privacy rights of individuals over national security and focus on comprehensive immigration reform and drug rehabilitation programs. The AI technology could be used in more effective ways instead of monitoring citizens on social media platforms, which could also involve a risk of manipulating public opinion.