Feds Saving All Tweets Forever On Massive Database
- Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:42pm by
Buck Sexton
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Watch what you Tweet, because the government will be able to retrieve it for years– or decades– to come, according to a new report.
That’s the lesson you can take from the Library of Congress’ mandate to collect anything that may have long-term historical interest, says Federal News Radio.
Most digital data has at least a theoretical expiration under law, such as ISP browsing history. But tweets, it seems, will live forever.
Bill Lefurgy, digital initiatives program manager at the Library of Congress national digital information infrastructure and preservation program, made the government’s policy on tweet collection pretty clear:
“We have an agreement with Twitter where they have a bunch of servers with their historic archive of tweets, everything that was sent out and declared to be public.”
So protected (private) tweets are apparently not collected, but those placed in the public domain — billions and billions of tweets — will be stored in huge capacity servers.
It’s already established government policy that the National Archives must preserve Tweets, emails and other electronic communications as ”government documents.” Given that intra-governmental communication is increasingly dominated by digital dissemination, this makes sense.
But the National Archives handles official government materials, whereas the Library of Congress has a much broader mission– which now apparently covers anything anyone chooses to tweet out to the world.
“We’re basically in the same situation as the National Archives, only on a much larger scale,” Lefurgy said . “We tend to have a much larger perspective in terms of what we collect.”
Plans are already in place to use the massive vaults of Tweets for “Data mining” purposes– whatever that means.
(H/T: Drudge)
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Comments (118)
Morris
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:53pmAmerica,Don,t you think that this is a Invasion of our privacy,Here goes is this the start of this
Dictator Obama destroying our 1-st Amendment???
This Dictatorship of Barack Hussein Obama and his complete Administration are treating
“We The People’,The American Citizens as if we are all Terrorist, But yet we cannot call a
Islamic Muslim Terrorist, a Terrororist???
Dictator Obama and Hillary Clinton are also working with the United Nations on taking away our
2-nd Amendment, They want to take our Guns away from all Americans!
Dictator Barack Hussein Obama and his Administration call watching and saving all of our TWEETE,
a good thing for the security of our Country, They call it “DATA MINING”, Is this not a invasion of our privacy, our 1-st Amendment?
You can also bet that they are saving all of our E-Mails also?
This Dictatorship of Barack Hussein Obama and his Corrupt Anti-American Godless Administration are working
on turning our America into a Marxist, Communist, Socialist Country run by a Dictator sitting in our
Whitehouse!
Dictator Obama is working every day with Saudi Arabia,“CAIR” The Washington DC Islamic Muslim
Barbaric Satan Cult of Islam,and the Muslim Brotherhood to take over our America!
“We The People” Must stop this Corrupt Anti-American Godless Administration, They are out to destroy everything that we Americans have fought and died for,and Obama wants to destroy
our America and our American way of life!
Impeach This Muslim Dictat
Report Post »KrishnaDas
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 4:07pmYou know, I’m not an Obama supporter at all, but you do realize that it’s not just Obama and the dems who enable this sort of thing? How many times do republicans vote for and allow our rights to be violated in the name of fighting terrorism? Start looking at this without partisan glasses and look at it instead with anti-statist glasses.
Ron Paul 2012
Report Post »caveman74
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 7:34pm2 words…patriot act. Both sides of the Isle seem to hate constitutional freedom for we the people
Report Post »recoveringneocon
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:50pmHmmm, Which candidate would be against this?
Report Post »KrishnaDas
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 4:07pmNone of them except Ron Paul
Report Post »stloocardsfan
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:46pmOh good, I guess I can expect the black suvs to be making more frequent passes in front of my house now.
Report Post »gbrules
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:45pmthe end of privacy.
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:45pmDo you really want to pizz off the powers in charge… Encode your messages and emails. Make up your own code or get PGP.
Report Post »recoveringneocon
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 4:17pmvsb sby trsf yhid mrddshr iy id in vomrf do duvk my fivr hobrtmrny. yhid id till gum snf noenr noe eosy yhr guvk im dsyinh.
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 8:54pmrecoveringneocon
Very good and funny also, thanks.
Report Post »gbrules
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:43pmthe end of privacy
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:41pmIsn’t that nice!? Your descendant runs for the presidency in 2200 and the opposing side brings up that his/her great great great grandparent once “tweeted” that …(fill in the blank). So happy that I don’t use Twitter, but then again, who‘s to say that they don’t do that with every website?
Report Post »The Catbird
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:40pmThis is the most corrupt, evil and godless regime in the history of our Republic. The trials should be convened at once on 1/21/2012.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 4:29pmnewt or gingrich will only store it for 100 years. ****……
Report Post »blaaaaackwoman
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:38pmOf course everything, EVERYTHING, written here is logged and analyzed by guys making $200,000 a year to spy on people. Nice job if you ask me.
Report Post »kurtnut
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:34pmI know its been said before, but imagine if this happened on Bush’s watch.
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:39pmHey Obama… save this! (3 finger salute gesture)
Report Post »code green
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:33pmYou forget. They ARE the authority. They don’t need no stinkin constitution man.
Report Post »This is why I don’t “tweet”, use facebook, or text. Not because I am doing anything wrong. It is just kind of a screw you big sis thing.
WAKEUPUSA2012
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:29pmWhen will you republicans wake up? We live in a police state. Our goverment is outta control.
Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:42pmWell said and I agree. This is just another example of wasteful spending by the government. Stop voting for the progressives in both parties.
Report Post »rdub76
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:59pmInasmuch as they are public tweets it’s not really an invasion of privacy. However I agree that it is paranoia by the govt and another way for them to track people. I’m sure they can see a lot and have at least some resources charged with reading this very website right now. As far as it being a Dem v. Repub. thing forget it they all salivate at the mere mention of some new police state tactic.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:24pmAlso .. don’t forget they are trying to make “snail mail” obsolete .. instead of competing the are retreating.
TEA!
2012 any one but Obama and his thugs!
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:32pmIt is all about control. Without regular mail, you will HAVE to autopay (good luck disputing a wrong bill – they already have your money) etc. etc.
Report Post »762x51
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:14pmда товарищ , what did you expect? After all those late night booty call tweets have GREAT historical significance, or could there be a darker motive from our government? I wonder which is more likely?
I have never had a “social networking” account and never will.
Report Post »meamerican
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:19pmDon’t worry they save these also
Report Post »Shasta
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:23pmхорошая идея
Report Post »762x51
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:58pmShasta – спасибо
Report Post »ThankBabyJesus
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:11pmHistory in the making.
Report Post »Outlaw_Josey_Wales
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:06pmI‘m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore.
Report Post »MaxineH20Sux
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:03pmI ended my FB account a while ago and I never had a twitter account either. Why would they even want to do this though unless they will use it for the wrong purpose?
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:28pmEverything we post here, posts on Google.
Report Post »I can google your Blaze name and read every statement you have made here at the Blaze.
ImMadAsHell
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:03pmAnyone wonder Y my Nick here is “IMMADASHELL”??? I’m sick of this crap
Report Post »Christianmandoad
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:01pmI’ve been trying to get my first tweet from twitter, but they only hold onto the last 3200. Maybe I can get it from the Feds.
Report Post »PPMStudios
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:59pmYeah but, it’ll take more than this to shut Alec Baldwin up…..
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:06pmUnfortunately, nothing will shut that guy up. Well, maybe a muffin shoved into his pie hole would stifle the verbal diarrhea for a moment but he’s gotta swallow at some point….
Report Post »NoRoomForSocialismHere
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:58pmThey dont have a right, let history be history not a data bank on citizens. We know the ones that need to be watched
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:56pmAnd soon enough they will be using it for extortion, control and what may come for those who oppose the government and wish only to be free. Remember information is power, and who controls the info has the power.
Report Post »Shasta
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:25pmToo late, we are all on their list already.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:26pmYes .. remember back in the days .. when schools actualy taught? We were told the first thing you did in a government takeover was to take over the radio and tv transmission stations. Now it is the internet.
TEA!
Report Post »4-The-Truth
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:53pmBig Brother is watching you now with a lot better technology than they had in 1984.
Report Post »762x51
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:16pmOrwell would crap his chaps if he saw the technology BB is using against the population today.
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:24pmIs it no wonder ?
Report Post »Look at the back of your dollar bill people. See the “illuminated” all-seeing eye?
Is there anything American about it? NO !!!
The only thing American about a federal reserve note is the portrait of an ex-president and the name
‘United States of America’, otherwise it represents the federal reserve PRIVATE BANK and it’s owners ( the global elite – the all seeing eye ) is it also coincidence that the “Eagle” on the great seal looks exactly like the rising phoenix in the Rothchild’s family crest ?
Cameras covering every inch of interstate system.
‘Tag readers’ ( High-tech system to register EVERY vehicle that passes within the radius of a detector ) on police vehicles and on the interstate systems, that track you anytime you pass one.
1984 is here.
KickinBack
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:49pmI’ve never had a twitter account, so I guess the feds don’t know I exist.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:52pmAnd this is the logical extension of the unconstitutional Patriot Act. Don‘t tell me Bush and the republicans aren’t big brother government supporters.
Report Post »Chappy123
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:00pmGet over the Bush thing.
Report Post »762x51
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:20pmJROOK – Bush and the Republicans are merely Progressive lite, they are Democraps that masquerade as something they are not. They are NOT Conservatives, that has been proven over and over. again. Yours and other lib tirades against them are hysterically fun to those of us that know and understand the difference because you may as well be raging at yourself in the mirror. I recommend auto-flagellation treatment to cure what ails you.
Report Post »mrmikejohnson
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 2:46pmImagine the outrage from the left if George W Bush tried something like this.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:17pmI’m not a Bush basher by any means but he did give us the patriot act,the biggest threat to our liberty in many years.
Report Post »