Spying on citizens again?
For those who don't remember, Impact Social are a company the mayor paid with our money to spy on Twitter. As I revealed in 2019, he received monthly reports and lists of people who talked about him on social media (inc. cllrs).
From 2018, we paid £110k for this spying. It was stopped in May 2021.
But fast forward two years and the public are paying the same company again. In January 2023, Impact Social were once again paid by the City Mayor’s Office.
We used to pay £3000 a month so the mayor could spy on us; it's gone up to £6000. Compared to £12 billion for city leap, or £15m for consultant reports, it may seem trivial to some.
Note, however, that in October 2022, the council cut newspapers to libraries to save £23k a year. Millions have been paid out to developers while services for those who have the least, have been cut.
Spying in Bristol has also happened by council staff. Parents whose children needed support were instead tracked over different types of social media, had personal photos shared between council staff, and a parent carer forum had funding withdrawn because individuals on it were critical of the council.
The External Communications unit lost their head, Saskia Konynenburg, last year after a scandal-ridden second term for Rees.
An inquiry into SEND spying has been voted for by Full Council but the mayor refuses to begin it.
I wonder what Impact Social were monitoring Twitter about this time? You’ll be able to read about it when it’s published.