Civil rights groups say they want answers from Boston police on how the department will use its $1.4 million social media tracking system — citing fears that it will broadly target young blacks and try to link them to gang activity.

“Bottom line is that the way this type of technology is used could have a disproportionate impact on individuals of color,” Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, told the Herald yesterday. He cited a recent Supreme Judicial Court decision that found individuals of color are “repeatedly targeted” by the Boston Police Department.

“This is a very real threat that has been recognized by the court,” Espinoza-Madrigal said.

The concern is that police efforts to take down violent gangs — with predominantly minority membership — could mean an overly intensive focus on social media use by black youths, including both those who have nothing to do with gangs, and those who may have relationships with gang members but aren’t involved in crime.

“The concern here is that you are compromising individuals’ right to free speech if you’re using what they communicate through social media to target them for law enforcement,” Espinoza-Madrigal said. “If there is any evidence of failure to protect the rights of affected individuals, it would be something that would be highly concerning for the Lawyers’ Committee, and we would explore legal remedies that may be available to the affected individuals.”

Advocates say they want police to reveal the search criteria for tracking Facebook and Twitter accounts, and report on the race and locations of people investigated or prosecuted via social media posts.

Darnell Williams of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, said police “have to be forthcoming and very transparent with the areas or categories of what they’re looking for, so that we don’t have another version of racial profiling emerging right under our nose.”

Kade Crockford of the ACLU of Massachusetts’ Technology for Liberty program said, “Certainly if the Boston Police Department is only searching for terms like ‘Black Lives Matter’ … that would be very troubling.”

Using similar technology and citing social media posts in court, Crockford said, “(The New York Police Department) has been able to make a case that these young men are somehow involved in a conspiracy that ended in murder. This is very dangerous, because these young people were never accused of being at the scene of the crime, touching a weapon, planning the murder.”

BPD is due to award a $1.4 million contract by Dec. 5 for a system to “proactively alert personnel to threats communicated via social media and/or online open source and/or social media platforms.”

A BPD statement yesterday said the software would “be used in accordance to strict policies and procedures and within the parameters of state and federal laws. And, in keeping with the BPD’s longstanding commitment to community policing and transparency, privacy rights and crime prevention will receive equal consideration as the BPD explores the pros and cons of adopting such a program.”

Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he is not concerned it could be used to inappropriately target certain groups.

“It is not about discrimination. It’s about safety,” Walsh told the Herald yesterday. “Social media is out there. People need to be careful what they put out there. I think that is one of the things that is important for us to have the information, see what people put on social media.”