Federal Big Brother of Investigation

Worth noting the FBI apparently has a half million dollars to spend to have someone monitor and record callers to talk radio shows.

WMAL in Washington reports the FBI denies any Big Brother intent:

 The FBI has awarded a $524,927 contract to a Virginia company to record as much radio news and talk programming as it can find on the Internet.

The FBI says it is not playing big brother by policing the airwaves, but rather seeking access to what airs as potential evidence.

Potential evidence of what? It appears the FBI now presumes forms of electronic free speech are suspicious activity to the extent they must be monitored.

As I ponder this report, I'd like to see some originating documentation. I've come up empty trying to search out some initial request for proposal. Seems to me, a half million dollars is a woefully inadequate sum to monitor all the Internet.

If you know the genesis of this story, I'd appreciate you passing it along.

Update: If you think WMAL's report about the FBI sounds far fetched, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is also seeking a company to help it monitor news and social media. The Fed's request for proposal is available here.