U.S. Post Office to brief lawmakers on its covert surveillance program

The head of the U.S. Post Office law enforcement division running a covert social media collection program is expected to brief lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday morning about its surveillance work.

Yahoo News last week revealed the existence of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Internet Covert Operations Program, known as iCOP, which has been monitoring social media for information about political protests. The work involves having analysts trawl through social media sites to look for what one Post Office intelligence bulletin describes as “inflammatory” postings and then sharing that information across government and law enforcement agencies.