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Homeland Security reveals hundreds of words that could put you on their online watch list

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:26PM EST
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Social networks like Twitter and Facebook are among the thousands of sites monitored for suspicious activity by the Department of Homeland Security, and the government agency was recently forced to tip its hand. As part of a freedom of information request made by watchdog group Electronic Privacy Information Center, DOHS recently published a list of hundreds of words and terms it watches for on social media sites. Some are obvious, such as Al Qaeda, terrorism and domestic nuclear detection, while others are potentially a bit more innocent such as Mexico, social media and burst. Innocent or not, the wrong combination of the terms published in this list could result in a user’s online activity being monitored by DOHS — and if they don’t like what they see, users could end up being watched more closely. A spokesperson for the government agency called the list a starting point used to maintain situational awareness of natural and man-made threats, rather than an endgame.

[Via Daily Mail]

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Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.