In a proposal submitted by Homeland Security, visitors coming to the US under the Visa Waiver Program may be asked to provide a listing of their various social media ‘profiles’. Specifically, this would apply to ESTA and I-94W applicants.
In the proposal, Homeland Security suggests that any information provided would only be used for ‘vetting and contact purposes’.
As scary and invasive as this sounds, the proposal as written suggests that providing this addition information will be ‘voluntary’. However critics of the proposal suggest that most applicants will feel like they have to submit the information so that their applications are not deemed suspicious or incomplete.
The proposal is now open to a 60 day period for public comment before any further steps are taken.
How’s that for Big Brother concepts??
Giving the username up is fine. That just lets them check publicly available content. So if you say you never have been to Syria or Iran, but then they see you have photos on Instagram of you in Raqqa or Tehran, you get busted.