UK Labour Government Splurging £2.3 Million on AI to Spy on Social Media
The Government’s disinformation squad is secretly building an AI programme to scour social media for “concerning” posts – so it can step in and “take action”. The Telegraph has the story.
Records show the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently awarded a £2.3 million contract to Faculty AI to build monitoring software which can search for “foreign interference”, detect deepfakes and “analyse social media narratives”.
The platform is part of the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) which was set up in 2019 and sparked widespread criticism for amassing files on journalists, academics and MPs who challenged the Government’s narrative during the pandemic.
The unit, which has since been rebranded the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT), has links to the intelligence agencies, which has allowed it to avoid public scrutiny.
DSIT said the new AI tool, called the Counter Disinformation Data Platform (CDDP), is looking solely for posts “which pose a threat to national security and public safety risk”.
The current focus of beta testing is the influence of foreign states during elections.
However, heavily redacted documents obtained by Big Brother Watch through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests show that the Government is reserving the right to also use the platform for other issues.
Read more: UK Labour Government Splurging £2.3 Million on AI to Spy on Social Media
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