OSINT and web scrapping as a police investigation tool. Potential and limits - CANCELLED

• In Event: Policing via Data and the Internet: Impacts and Challenges

Abstract

Open source intelligence (OSINT) is becoming more and more widespread as a police investigation technique. Increasingly sophisticated scraping technologies make it possible to extract large amounts of information from the web quickly and cheaply. The problem posed by these tools -unregulated but used in police practice- has to do with their potential to affect fundamental rights. In this context, this paper aims to explore both the potential and the ethical and legal limits of police use of these tools. To this end, the paper is structured around four issues: 1) OSINT techniques and police web scraping; 2) Potential for the investigation of certain types of crimes, especially organized crime; 3) Potential impact on fundamental rights; 4) Ethical and legal limits of cyber patrolling. As a general conclusion, it should be noted that open source is not equivalent to public data, devoid of reasonable expectation of privacy. Therefore, the police use of technological scraping tools, in an unregulated environment and outside judicial control, are a breeding ground for the violation of fundamental rights, so clear rules are needed to take advantage of its potential as an investigative tool, without incurring in a systematic violation of fundamental rights.

Author

• Ana María Neira-Pena, University of A Coruña