Leaked documents show FBI claims about surveillance limits ahead of Jan. 6 were misleading


In the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress the bureau was unable to fully prevent or anticipate the attack because it lacked the power, resources, and capability to aggressively monitor social media, "where much of the planning for the insurrection took place," Rolling Stone writes.
Since then, the FBI has built out its online surveillance capabilities — even "entering into one of the largest social-media monitoring contracts of any federal agency," Rolling Stone adds.
Well, according to internal records obtained by Rolling Stone, the FBI was already involved in "ongoing and widespread" tracking of multiple social media platforms — including Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram — prior to Jan. 6. The documents indicate the FBI has "all the authority it needs" to review social platforms for issues of public safety, and had no qualms doing so during racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Property of the People, a government transparency nonprofit that first obtained the documents, claims the records reveal "three consistent truths about the FBI:" the bureau targets the left but enables the far-right; its spokespersons "lie like they breathe"; and it "exploits national crises to expand the already dystopian reach of its surveillance," per Rolling Stone.
Added Faiza Patel of the Brennan Center for Justice: "I think [the FBI] has more authority than it needs frankly."
"When Wray says they don't have the authority, he has affirmatively lied to the Congress, flat out," remarked Patrick Eddington of the Cato Institute.
In a statement on the matter, the FBI said it "routinely reviews and updates its social media capabilities to ensure the continued utility of these tools in accordance with law, regulation, and policy." Read more at Rolling Stone.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling