Three large social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, restricted access to their data for the firm, dealing with social media analysis, after it was accused of provision of information, allowing tracking activists and rioters, to US police – BBC reports.

The non-governmental organization “American Civil Liberties Union" stated that Chicago-based Geofeedia allowed the police “to enter through the side door” for monitoring mass protests.

The news broke amid growing concerns among legal advocates regarding the access of state authorities to social media.

Geofeedia states in its defense that it is committed to observance of privacy principles and its activity serves to the benefit of society.

ACLU states that the firm provided its services to the police, allowing tracking activists, in particular, Black Lives Matter movement, through geolocation and messages in social media.

According to the statement of human rights organization, it was provided with internal documents, in which Geofeedia boasts of the fact that it tracked “Fergusson/Michael Brown protests” very successfully, referring to riots, erupting among Afro-American population in 2014 after the Caucasian police officer shot down the Afro-American while attempting to arrest him. 

“We know for sure that in Oakland (California) and Baltimore (Maryland) the law enforcement forces used Geofeedia for monitoring protests”, according to ACLU statement.

The Facebook representative informed that Geofeedia had access only to those data, which the users made publicly available by themselves.