Watch what you say on Facebook and Twitter or you might not be able to enter the US
US may screen foreign traveller's Facebook and Twitter accounts to know what you are saying, USA Today reports.
The
US government's new proposal to curb terrorism involves snooping around
social media accounts of foreign travelers. The new proposal to ask
visitors and non-citizens for their “social media identifier”could help border agents “investigate”
your background without having to go to the NSA, Customs and Border
Protection, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), believes having this “identifier” could help it find “possible nefarious activity and connections.”
According to the Federal Register, if the plan is approved following a public consultation process that
ends on August 22, those traveling under either the Electronic System
for Travel Authorization (ESTA) or visa waiver programs under Form I-94W
would have the option of answering, “Please enter information associated with your online presence – Provider/Platform – Social media identifier,"
The social media information would be gathered in addition to the
numerous database checks, fingerprinting, and face-to-interviews that
already take place.
How it would be processed is not revealed in the proposal and providing the information would be voluntary.
The DHS says that having access to social media details “will enhance the existing investigative process” and provide “an additional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better analyze and investigate
The DHS said that it would be taking a closer look at the social
media posts of visa applicants following the attack in San Bernardino,
California last December in which 14 people were killed.
An
examination of the social media profiles of the killers who carried out
that massacre provided a good deal of evidence for the investigation,
although not enough to identify a motive which remains unclear.
Other changes to the visa waiver program, adopted by
the US House of Representatives last December, require that travelers
who have visited a particular list of countries in the previous five
years, including Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya, be subjected to
increased scrutinized.
"Collecting social media
data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide DHS
greater clarity and visibility to possible nefarious activity," the
proposal said.
Twitter, Facebook and other social media services have been
criticized for allowing terrorists to spread their message and influence
others on their platforms. The family of a victim of the Paris
terrorist attacks in November sued Facebook, Google and Twitter,
claiming the companies allowed the Islamic State to spread propaganda to
attract and train new recruits and celebrate attacks.
