Dont ComplyThe Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that records the U.S. Postal Service disclosed under a settlement of its 2021 Freedom of Information Act suit show the agency's internet Covert Operations Program, or iCOP, was used in 2020 and 2021 to monitor social media posts about planned protests. According to EFF, bulletins covered events including a "Million MAGA March," a gun rights event in Virginia, a Save the Post Office protest and demonstrations at then-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's home. EFF says one bulletin acknowledged "no intelligence to suggest specific threats." EFF also reports that the agency lost access to stored emails about the program after a hard drive was dropped, and that the underlying messages had been deleted under a retention schedule. In talking points, the Chief Postal Inspector said the review did not single out any group and that the agency had stopped distributing the bulletins. EFF disputes the claim that First Amendment rights were not infringed.
Why it matters
EFF says the records show social media surveillance of protest organizing with little documented oversight or legal justification. The group also says the agency released few internal rules on safeguarding First Amendment rights.
These are unproven claims, and everyone named is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Researched with AI assistance from the sources listed here and reviewed under our methodology.