Russia\u2019s Investigative Committee said it will monitor Facebook, Twitter and Instagram along with other social networks for evidence and reactions on serious crimes. The top law enforcement agency has posted a contract for the creation of the system.<\/p>\n
The winner of the 1.2-million-ruble (about $38,000) contract,
\nexpected to be named by the end of June, will be tasked with
\nhelping the Investigative Committee monitor 15,000 print
\npublications and 8,500 online sources, as well as blogs and social
\nnetworks, to find information on crimes and public reactions to
\nthem.<\/p>\n
The list of sites the Committee plans to monitor round-the-clock
\nincludes popular Russian social networks Vkontakte and
\nOdnoklassniki (\u2018Classmates\u2019), Twitter, LiveJournal, video-hosting
\nwebsites Youtube and Rutube, and location-based social network
\nFoursquare.<\/p>\n
The Committee claims that the system will track down the sources
\nof Web posts in order to determine the causes of crimes, and help
\nto solve them, Russian news website Lenta.ru reported<\/p>\n
However, it is unclear if the Committee will focus only on
\nRussian websites and crimes committed in Russia \u2014 the contract says
\nthat the system should be able to operate in Russian, English and
\nGerman. And besides information on crimes, the Investigative
\nCommittee is also interested in online reactions to its
\nwork.<\/p>\n
The Investigative Committee launched a similar scheme in January
\n2013, signing a contract worth 1.1 million rubles ($35,000) with
\nIntergrum Company to monitor media coverage of the Committee\u2019s
\nwork.<\/p>\n
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was formed
\nin January 2011 to probe high-profile cases, similar to the US
\nFederal Bureau of Investigation. The agency\u2019s predecessor was the
\nInvestigative Committee of the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office (SKP),
\nwhich was formed in 2007. The Committee, which employs over 20,000,
\nis aimed at establishing a wall of separation between the
\nprosecution and the preliminary investigation in criminal
\ncases.<\/p>\n