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.
Source: USA Today/RT. com
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