Trump Administration Aims To Use Facebook To Spy On People Collecting Disability

The aim is to use a form of federal surveillance to monitor social media posts of Social Security disability payment recipients to see whether they’re really disabled.

Critics say social media photos and posts may be a poor representation of someone’s disability. Judging a mental health issue from a photo, for example, would be nearly impossible. 

More than 10 million people receive Social Security disability benefits worth more than $11 billion a month. Recipients have paid into the system through payroll taxes.

The new focus on fraud comes as applications for disability payments plunged 29 percent last year from a peak of 2.9 million in 2010, according to the Times.

Meanwhile, legislators are scrutinizing  high rates of denials of disability benefits to people in Tennessee by doctors hired by the state. The doctors, highly compensated by the state, reportedly speed through as many as 12 case evaluations an hour.