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September 3, 2021 05:39 pm

Feds To Close Unit That Monitored Americans' Social Media for Census Disinformation

The US Commerce Department said Friday that it will eliminate an internal security division after an investigation found it had overstepped its authority when it launched criminal investigations into Commerce employees and US citizens. From a report: The Investigations and Threat Management Service division had no "adequate legal authority" to conduct criminal investigations, according to an internal investigation by the Commerce Department's Office of General Counsel. The investigators recommended that the ITMS unit be eliminated within 90 days, and that its security duties be folded into other Commerce divisions. The Commerce Department said in a statement it would accept the report's recommendations. "Our most important priority is creating an environment at the Department of Commerce where employees feel safe and respected," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in the statement. "We are committed to maintaining our security, but also equally committed to protecting the privacy and civil liberties of our employees and the public." [...] ITMS was the subject of a Congressional investigation earlier this year. In May, Sen. Roger Wicker, (R-Mississippi), the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, released a fact sheet detailing a Congressional investigation into the ITMS that began in February. Wicker's memo claimed that ITMS "surveilled social media activity on Twitter to monitor accounts that posted commentary critical of processes used to conduct the US Census." The Washington Post was first to report on ITMS' activities.

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