DHS 10.28.22

To Whom It May Concern:

You are receiving this correspondence as a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552. I am requesting the following:

All Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records responsive to Cobwebs Technologies and Tangles.

Tangles is identified in a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis titled "Operations in Portland". This was report was first issued on April 20, 2021 but a revised version was published by Senator Ron Wyden on his website on October 27, 2022 (https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/I&A%20and%20OGC%20Portland%20Reports.pdf). The revised report states on page 55 that Tangles is a "social media aggregation tool" that was used by DHS Open Source Collection Operations to compile information on individuals attending the 2020 George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon using "available social media profiles."

Cobwebs Technologies has publicly acknowledged itself as the creator of Tangles on its website (https://cobwebs.com/using-web-intelligence-for-criminal-investigations/), which states Tangles is a "web intelligence platform" that can "obtain precise and unrivaled web intelligence in the open and dark web in a fraction of the time it used to take."

Therefore, I am requesting all responsive records including, but not limited to:

- Current and previous contracts with Cobwebs Technologies

- Requests for Proposals

- Initial Bid Documents

- Memorandum(s) of Understanding

- Letters of Interest

- Procurement Request Packages

- Change Order Requests issued by either DHS or Cobwebs Technologies

- Privacy impact assessments for Tangles

- Product manuals for Tangles

- Instructional materials or presentations by Cobwebs Technologies and/or for Tangles

- Use policies and standard operating procedures for Tangles

- Data retention policies for Tangles

I am asking you waive any fees associated with this request. I am a member of the news media, with bylines including Covert Action Magazine, Janata Weekly, and Philly Voice. Please take note of the Office of Management and Budget guidelines published March 27, 1987 (52 FR 10012) that include electronic publications and other nontraditional publishers as representatives of the news media.

This request is not being made for commercial purposes. All documents will be provided to the general public without charge.

In the event that there are fees, I am willing to pay up to $100. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

I look forward to your response within 20 working days, as the statute requires. If access to the records I am requesting will take longer, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Sincerely,

Robert Skvarla, Jr.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on Freedom of Information Act request 2023-HQFO-00256, copied below, and originally submitted on November 11, 2022. I received an email communication on January 27, 2023 from Jimmy Wolfrey, Senior Director, FOIA Operations and Management, stating that my request was being transferred to the Office of Intelligence & Analysis, but I have not received any correspondence since then. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. Again, the request number is 2023-HQFO-00256.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Dear FOIA Officer:

I am following up on FOIA request 2023-IAFO-00273.

On May 31, 2023, I received a letter from Nora Mychele King, Assistant FOIA Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, acknowledging receipt of this request. In that communication, the Assistant FOIA Officer stated DHS(I&A) would need to invoke a 10-day extension on top of the traditional 20 business day FOIA response period. Given that the acknowledgment letter was dated for May 31, 2023, the full 30 business days would have expired on July 12, 2023. As of July 14, 2023, I have yet to receive any follow-up communications from DHS(I&A) regarding FOIA request 2023-IAFO-00273. Therefore, I am requesting an update on the status of this request. If you require additional time, please provide a time frame for completion.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

Respectfully,

Robert Skvarla, Jr.