Soon, feds will snoop on your social networks before granting security clearance

There's so many things wrong with this.

How is this going to do anything other than make a new aristocracy: the "Cleared"?

The Cleared get to set the rules on how to join the class of Cleared Citizens, and administer the examination. The Cleared won't use Facebook, Twitter, or publicly express any opinion whatsoever, letting all the underclass disqualify themselves from Clearedness out of ignorance.

It will also lead to a further erosion of civil liberties, because the Cleared know that they can't publicly express any dissent, except maybe to advocate voting Democrat. That caution about dissent could spread to the underclass either by imitation, or by folk knowledge: "don't say anything the Feds don't like - you'll maybe be out of a job later".

I'm surprised that they haven't been doing that already. They probably won't be interested in the dumb stuff you did when you were younger. I'm betting they'll be looking for posts expressing anti-government sentiments or where your friends/family are from.