TN Note: DHS can draw on intelligence information from any other agency, but feels that it needs yet more advanced software tools to analyze social media in order to find evil-doers. The RFI gives lip-service to "protect the privacy, civil rights and civil liberties of individuals involved in open source and social media communications" but the intent to spy on all Americans is clear. Data collection and monitoring is the heartbeat of Technocracy, because one of the first rules of engineering states that you cannot control what you cannot monitor.

The Department of Homeland Security wants businesses to present their cutting-edge social media analytics services next month — especially technology that could enhance criminal investigations, traveler screenings and situational awareness.

In a new request for information, DHS said it is looking for open source analytics tools that can make internal operations more efficient and reduce costs through "advanced analytic automation," across the department, all while using "privacy, civil rights and civil liberties-protecting analytic methods."

Respondents have until Feb. 9 to submit descriptions of their analytics capabilities, including geospatial processing, foreign and spoken language processing, and keyword, image and video analysis, among other elements.

DHS plans to ask 30 "exemplars of social media analytics capabilities in the market place" to present technology that could help analysts find patterns "in the context of homeland security investigative, screening and/or homeland security mission related situation awareness missions."

Those groups will be asked to present on Feb. 26, the RFI said.

The solicitation also asked respondents to describe the way they "protect the privacy, civil rights and civil liberties of individuals involved in open source and social media communications," including factors such as data removal methods, "role based access to information, user audit, system logging, policy enforcing mechanisms, encryption, etc."