Biden Administration considers increasing social media surveillance after Pentagon leaks

The Biden Administration is considering using an intelligence failure that allowed classified Pentagon documents to circulate online unnoticed for weeks to call for broadening its surveillance of social media platforms. This potential alteration to intelligence gathering methods comes as authorities rush to find out not only how the leak occurred, but also how to prevent similar incidents in the future. Last week, President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were informed of the leak. However, it was reported that the secret documents first emerged on the Discord social media app as early as January, according to open-source investigative group Bellingcat which has alleged ties to the intelligence community. Upon discovering that the documents had been available online for an extended period, the president and other officials allegedly considered ways to prevent this from happening again in the future. As a response, the administration may expand the scope of online platforms that intelligence and law enforcement agencies monitor, NBC reported. The leaked Pentagon documents allegedly emerged in internet gaming circles, giving officials justification to surveil this area more closely. One of the apps considered to be more closely surveilled is Discord. Discord is a communication app designed primarily for the gaming community but has since expanded to serve a wide range of users and purposes. It provides a platform for text, voice, and video chat, allowing users to communicate and collaborate in real-time. Discord offers both public and private servers, enabling people to create and join chat rooms or channels…Biden Administration considers increasing social media surveillance after Pentagon leaks