Millions of people across the nation count on disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. When an illness or injury prevents a person from holding down a job, they may rely on the support they receive from the government to take care of their individual needs. New Yorkers throughout the state use their disability benefits to cover a wide range of necessary living costs.
While readers may know that in some cases disability benefits’ recipients may have their benefits cut off if they are found to be receiving them under fraudulent or erroneous information, they may not know that the Social Security Administration is looking into a new way to monitor recipients’ need for support. A budgeting report issued by the Social Security Administration suggests that surveillance on social media may be used to identify individuals who could be wrongfully getting disability help.
Although it is in the interest of everyone for the government to crack down on those who are illegally and wrongfully getting disability benefits’ help, surveillance of social media may not be a good way to accomplish these ends. Images and comments made by individuals may be misinterpreted by investigators and may cause benefits recipients to lose the support they need. Additionally, privacy concerns may cause some to fear what information the government is actually trying to pull from their online accounts.
It will be interesting to see what happens as this suggestion is considered by the government. For now, everyone should be wary of what they share online and should be familiar with the privacy settings that their social media platforms offer to users. Those with disability benefits questions should contact their trusted attorneys for help.