In 2017, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) started conducting social media monitoring (SMM). The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) held that the EUAA’s mandate did not include an explicit legal basis for such personal data processing activities and imposed a temporary ban on the EUAA’s SMM activities in 2019. Supported by the European Commission, Frontex added SMM to its list of surveillance activities. The EDPS issued two negative opinions in 2022, in particular concerning the legal basis for processing special categories of personal data. Europol's Internet Referral Unit (IRU) has the mandate to monitor online content, including on social media. In 2019, Frontex and Europol signed a Joint Action Plan providing for a structured exchange of information between the two agencies.