The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed a contract with Canadian company Hootsuite to use its technology for managing and monitoring social media. The deal was recently revealed by several Canadian and US media outlets after parts of the contract were made public.
According to Canadian news outlet Betakit, Hootsuite will provide its social media management and monitoring technology to DHS, with payments of reportedly up to $2.8 million USD until 2029.
The exact terms of the contract remain unclear, but it appears to give Homeland Security access to Hootsuite’s support services as well as a linked programme called Talkwalker, which uses artificial intelligence to surveil and monitor social media activity.
Hootsuite declined to comment on the contract when approached by North American media, stating it would not provide statements to “current, former, or potential clients or partners”. The company had previously faced criticism in 2020 for negotiating a deal with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which falls under the DHS. The backlash led Hootsuite to cancel the three-year contract and to terminate two employees who had publicly disclosed the arrangement.
At that time, the Talkwalker programme was not part of the deal, as the company was not acquired by Hootsuite until 2024. Talkwalker, previously headquartered in Luxembourg, had been founded by Thibaut Britz and Christophe Folschette, with financial backing from Robert Glaesener.
In April 2024, the acquisition was announced, and the Luxembourg offices were to become Hootsuite’s European headquarters. Both companies were working on similar technologies, focused on monitoring social media to track what others are saying about users, as reported by Paperjam in 2024.
On their website, Hootsuite describes itself as a “social media marketing and management tool” to better market and manage users’ social media. According to their own website, Hootsuite customers include IKEA, Adobe, the World Health Organisation, and the University of Chicago.
The website also highlights the Luxembourg-made Talkwalker as one their most important tools featured in their social listening category. They claim that Talkwalker can listen to millions of conversations on social media, allowing users to surveil the entire world wide web through their services.
“Get the clearest picture of what your audience is saying – no matter where they say it. Advanced AI monitors millions of websites so that you don’t miss any mention, crisis, or opportunity to join a conversation”, the website continues.
Therefore, it appears that over the next three years, a programme developed in the Grand Duchy will be used by the US Department of Homeland Security and, by extension, ICE to monitor social media.
