The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been accused of using a controversial technology that allows them to create fake social media accounts and spy on civilians, in order to capture a suspected serial killer who targeted homeless people.
LAPD partnered with Voyager Labs, a tech firm that claims to predict crimes
According to a report by the Guardian, the LAPD pursued a contract with Voyager Labs, a technology company that provides social media surveillance software to law enforcement agencies. The software can collect and analyze large amounts of social media data, and identify people’s motives, beliefs, and ideologies. It can also enable police to conduct undercover monitoring using fake social media profiles.
The LAPD trialed Voyager’s software in 2019, and continued to access some of the technology after the pilot period. The records show that the LAPD and Voyager spent more than a year trying to finalize a formal contract, and that the department has had ongoing conversations this year about a continued partnership.
The LAPD declined to respond to detailed inquiries on its trial with Voyager and its use of social media surveillance software. The department has said in the past that social media can be critical for investigations and for situational awareness in monitoring major events for potential public safety issues.
LAPD used Voyager’s software to track down a serial killer who shot three homeless people
The LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software came to light after the department announced that it had arrested a suspect in connection with a series of fatal shootings of homeless people in Los Angeles. The suspect, whose identity has not been revealed, is believed to have killed three homeless men in four days, as they slept on the streets.
The LAPD said that it used Voyager’s software to collect data on the suspect’s online network and surveil the accounts of thousands of his friends. The software also helped the police to locate the suspect’s vehicle, a dark-colored sedan, which was caught on surveillance footage.
The LAPD chief, Michel Moore, said that the suspect approached each victim and shot and killed them as they slept. He called the murders a “series”, but declined to call the suspect a serial killer.
LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software raises concerns about privacy and civil rights violations
The LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software has sparked outrage among civil rights groups and privacy advocates, who say that the technology is invasive, secretive, and potentially discriminatory. They argue that the software could enable police to spy on innocent people, violate their free speech and privacy rights, and target them based on their race, religion, or political views.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a non-profit organization that obtained the internal LAPD documents through public records requests, said that the LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software was “deeply troubling”. The organization said that the software could create “digital dossiers” of people’s online activities, and that the police could use the software to manipulate or deceive people online.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California also criticized the LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software, saying that it was “a clear example of mission creep”. The ACLU said that the LAPD had initially claimed that it would use the software only for counter-terrorism purposes, but later expanded its use to other types of investigations, without proper oversight or transparency.
The LAPD’s use of Voyager’s software also raises questions about the accuracy and reliability of the technology, and the ethical implications of using algorithms to predict crimes and monitor people’s private messages. Experts have warned that such technologies could be biased, inaccurate, or easily manipulated, and that they could undermine the presumption of innocence and due process.
