Several weeks before the shootings that took 29 innocent lives the FBI had posted on the bureau’s website a request for private sector monitors to assist federal agents in tracking social media posts to prevent future attacks, according to the post.
It wasn’t soon enough. On Saturday August 3rd, 2019 in the span of 13 hours two gunmen, one in El Paso and the other in Dayton, Ohio took the lives of 29 civilians, including the gunman from Dayton.
According to the FBI website, there is a dire need to access “real time” information on users of all social media platforms. The FBI’s mission for the project “is to detect, disrupt, and investigate an ever growing diverse range of threats to U.S. National interests.”
On Monday August 5th, 2019 President Trump called on the FBI and Department of Justice to work closely with social media giants.
This is clearly not happening, as Social Media giants are still making it very difficult for law enforcement agencies to have complete access to their data regarding any potential threats to our communities. Public Safety agencies/entities need to win the fight against these kinds of tragedies, by having the tools to help them find and determine social risks before they become another active shooter incident.
“We must shine light on the dark recesses of the internet and stop mass murders before they start,” said Trump.
“The perils of the internet and social media cannot be ignored and they will not be ignored.”
Trump also highlighted the El Paso shooter’s use of social media to publish his anti-immigrant manifesto, “The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. We must recognize that the internet has provided a dangerous avenue to radicalize disturbed minds and perform demented acts.”
