The Pentagon Canceled a Mysterious ‘LifeLog’ Tracker Days Before Facebook Was Founded

Now forgotten, LifeLog was dreamed up by DARPA, an agency inside the Department of Defense. Documents show LifeLog’s goal was to collect data on everywhere a person goes, and everything they see, say and do. Information was going to be aggregated in a timeline — LifeLog would then identify “patterns” to understand your routines and interests.

LifeLog proposal, unclassified: https://web.archive.org/web/20030603173339/http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/Solicitations/PIP_03-30.html

Pentagon cancels LifeLog project: https://www.wired.com/2004/02/pentagon-kills-lifelog-project/

In-Q-Tel social media surveillance investing: https://theintercept.com/2016/04/14/in-undisclosed-cia-investments-social-media-mining-looms-large/

ALCU report on Geofeedia: https://www.aclunc.org/blog/facebook-instagram-and-twitter-provided-data-access-surveillance-product-marketed-target

Main PRISM breaking story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data

How PRISM could collect US users data: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/20/fisa-court-nsa-without-warrant

Zuckerberg’s response to PRISM: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10100828955847631

Facebook built an electronic lockbox to handle legal requests for user data: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/technology/tech-companies-bristling-concede-to-government-surveillance-efforts.html?ref=global-home&_r=1&&pagewanted=all

Image credit 

Parody NSA graphic via EFF, Creative Commons: https://www.eff.org/pages/eff-nsa-graphics