Joint Analytic Real-time Virtual Information Sharing System (JARVISS)

The JARVISS system is an Army-wide information sharing enterprise intended to facilitate real-time sharing of information gathered from multiple sources in the military and civilian community. 

The JARVISS system dashboard uses advanced analytic algorithms and commercial analysts to provide users with threat information originating from over 80,000 open sources including social media, commercial and government sources. Threat information is geo-located and provides the user the distance to the closest Army assets. The systems workspace function can be used for detailed analysis, allowing full system users the ability to conduct crime, threat, or emergency management analysis.

Antiterrorism (AT) Division (of HQDA, OPMG) is the primary lead for the JARVISS program. And, this is where we begin to run into serious privacy and civil rights problems with the JARVISS system. Of the 80,000 sources of information the system is collecting information, how much of that information is related only to civilian activities? The JARVISS system creates a slippery slope where slope where Army antiterrorism officers are collecting information about US Persons, entering that information into government databases, in effect keeping secret files about American citizens with no civilian judicial oversight.

In the early 2000s the Army had a system called Joint Protection Enterprise Network (JPEN). The JPEN system allowed "authorized subscribers to immediately share antiterrorism and force protection events with Department of Defense installations, operations centers and intelligence activities enabling them to make more timely and informed decisions." Unfortunately the JPEN system ended up with a lot of information about US Persons being entered into the system by antiterrorism officers with no review or oversight of the information being collected. The JPEN system was eventually shut down.

The JARVISS system has a high potential for abuse, for collection of information about American citizens by Army antiterrorism offices, without sufficient review or oversight. As the JARVISS system becomes fully operational, how will you know whether some Army antiterrorism officer is keeping files about you in this system? How will you know if the Army is spying on you?
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