时间:2024-09-20 09:36:53 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
The United States government has started asking a select number of foreign travelers about their soc
The United States government has started asking a select number of foreign travelers about their social media accounts.
The news came on Thursday via Politicoand was confirmed to Mashableby a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after the new procedure reportedly began earlier in the week.
The process dovetails with what has been expected for months and has been slammed by privacy advocates.
SEE ALSO:YouTube blocked North Korean government’s channelHere's what we know about the basics of the program.
CBP is asking for social media info from anyone traveling to the U.S. through the Visa Waiver Program, which means they'd be able to travel about the country for 90 days of business or pleasure without a visa.
The social media request is a part of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form, which travelers looking for a visa waiver have to fill out before they get to the U.S. The form is used to assess "law enforcement or security risk," according to the CBP's website.
Travelers from 38 countries are eligible for a visa waiver, including those from the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and Hungary.
The form reportedly asks for account names on prominent social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as networks many people don't think much about, such as Github and Google+.
No one has to fill out their social media information to get into the country, and CBP has reportedly said it won't bar anyone from the U.S. just because that person didn't want to give their Twitter handle to the government.
Privacy advocates have decried the policy, since many travelers are likely to fill it out just in case.
That said, privacy advocates have decried the policy, since many travelers are likely to fill it out just in case. A number of groups including the ACLU signed an open letter in October warning of the forthcoming changes.
"Many of these travelers are likely to have business associates, family, and friends in the U.S., and many of them will communicate with their contacts in the U.S. over social media.
This data collection could therefore vacuum up a significant amount of data about Americans’ associations, beliefs, religious and political leanings, and more, chilling First Amendment freedoms."
The U.S. has long tried to spot radicals and radical sympathizers online, especially anyone affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS).
ISIS has long had a prolific and disparate social media presence, especially on Twitter, which they've used to spread messages and recruit those who might be hundreds or thousands of miles away from fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Initially, government officials wanted ISIS sympathizers to keep tweeting, because agencies were able to gather bits of information from those tweets. Then, however, the government got tired of how many ISIS members and sympathizers there were on Twitter and other platforms, so they ramped up pressure on those social networks to shut down such accounts.
For the government, this is the next step in working out which potential travelers to the U.S. have "connections" to ISIS. Of course, it's unclear what language the CBP would find alarming, and whether their alarm bells would be warranted.
Assuming the social media information will be used just like the rest of the information on the ESTA form travelers have to fill out for a visa waiver, the Department of Homeland Security will keep it readily available for up to three years after it's been filled out. Then the information is "archived for 12 years," but still accessible to law enforcement and national security agencies.
Homeland security and the CBP can share your social accounts with "appropriate federal, state, local, tribal and foreign governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations responsible for investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order or license, or where DHS believes information would assist enforcement of civil or criminal laws," according to the CBP website.
In other words, assuming the social information is treated like all the other information they collect form those with a visa waiver, homeland security could potentially share it with any law enforcement agency on the planet. They just have to "believe" the information might be of use in solving some type of legal violation.
So once you type out your Twitter handle and send in the application, that information is hardly yours.
TopicsFacebookSocial MediaTwitterGovernment
Samsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner2024-09-20 09:26
《人間正道是滄桑》青藏高原上年逾六十的“高原取光人”甄威2024-09-20 08:59
動畫電影《迷你世界之覺醒》發布終極預告!預售開啟 熱血迎戰2024-09-20 07:53
從不設限!從演員到愛豆再到演員,95後小生“五一”暗戀電影絕了2024-09-20 07:44
Tesla's rumored P100D could make Ludicrous mode even more Ludicrous2024-09-20 07:41
電影《極寒之城》亮相北影節 叔圈黑超最搶眼2024-09-20 07:33
電影《拯救嫌疑人》西安路演 張末李鴻其與觀眾共話現實議題2024-09-20 07:28
《彗星來的那一夜》今日開播 阿牛跨界執導偶像迷你劇2024-09-20 07:01
Samsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner2024-09-20 06:56
《逆流而上的你》熱播不停,有TA和愛伴你在生活中逆流而上2024-09-20 06:50
Early Apple2024-09-20 09:17
每一部都非常硬核 這些讓人腎上腺素狂飆的懸疑劇今年都蓄勢待播2024-09-20 09:09
《彗星來的那一夜》高甜升級 符龍飛湯夢佳開啟“同居”生活2024-09-20 08:55
山東春晚昨火熱開播 楊鈺瑩學貓叫上熱搜 收視七台春晚第一2024-09-20 08:46
PlayStation Now game streaming is coming to PC2024-09-20 08:45
趙寶剛新劇《青春鬥》定檔3.24 鄭爽領銜開啟燃鬥青春2024-09-20 08:34
《逆流而上的你》熱播不停 ,有TA和愛伴你在生活中逆流而上2024-09-20 07:56
電影《這個人來自未來》虛擬製作引領影視未來新趨勢2024-09-20 07:48
5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world2024-09-20 07:30
《皓鑭傳》霸屏收官,複盤愛奇藝“爆款”背後的內容“門道”2024-09-20 07:29