Campaigners fear that the government’s new AI tool – the Counter Disinformation Data Platform (CDDP) – will be used to target critics of Labour’s policies.
The CDDP is wielded by the government’s Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) – now known as the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT). This unit has previously been implicated in a major scandal by collecting information on journalists, academics and MPs who publicly questioned government policy during the COVID pandemic.
Head of Research and Investigations at Big Brother Watch, Jake Hurfurt, slammed the unit’s plans to spy on individuals:
“Whitehall must be transparent about how its ‘Counter Disinformation Unit’ plans to use AI to monitor social media, when millions of pounds of public money have been poured into its operation.”
“NSOIT’s predecessor, the CDU, was caught tracking criticism from journalists, activists and even MPs in an assault on free speech. The Government is still trying to hide this unit in the shadows. There is a risk that the Ministry of Truth lives on.”
The Telegraph – Labour will use AI to snoop on social media
Conservative Post – BIG BROTHER BRITAIN? LABOUR’S AI SPIES TO MONITOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS