US Customs seeks permission to request travelers’ social media account names | Hacker News Reader

US Customs seeks permission to request travelers’ social media account names

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18 pointsempressplay21 comments

I find it surprising that I'd have to tell them. I'd assume they'd already know.

I have none. Is this considered suspicious?

> I have none

“Please enter information associated with your online presence—Provider/Platform—Social media identifier.”

'voidz' is an indicator of online presence. If you omit it you have lied on your application, which is sufficient grounds for rejection of entry or removal from the USA.

Seems a little suspicious, considering you're making the claim via social media.

It would be outrageous if they asked for access. In this day and age, asking for an e-mail address, FB name, Twitter handle etc. is no more sensitive than asking for phone number or address.

Isn't this a repost ? Also starting to wonder why people would still bother going to the USA, as there are several risks involved. Maybe small, but they do still exist.

Because of the natural beauty (there are lots of parks, lots of wide open country.) Because of the old spots, culture, and all the amazing people!

I'm not American btw, but this argument is silly. My list is also a bit short considering how amazing the USA is.

From a European point of view, I find Americans overemphasise politics and their personal viewpoints in their daily part of life. If you overlook all that, its an absolutely amazing country.

Why is this a silly argument? For me the negatives far outweigh the positives in regards to visiting this country. Why should I take my hard earned money and spend it in a country that*s politics and human rights issues I despise?

Except for a potential, work-related trip some day I hope to never set foot there.

What other countries are on your personal blacklist? I would imagine that either your list is very long and allows you very little international travel, or you are overestimating the problems in the US. (Which wouldn't be hard to do, especially if you're determined to never visit for yourself and just watch the news instead.)

Well talking to Americans (actually quite a lot people) helped tremendously.

Speaking as a lifelong US resident, I found this assessment almost charmingly bucolic. Trying to capture the entirety of our country and its values in one sweeping and dismissively ethnocentric characterization is pitifully misguided.

Why am I doing a sweeping generalization? I really liked most Americans I met. Also there are some places that really interest me. I just do not approve of US politics and other issues and therefore will try to not visit them. The interest in the places does not weight higher in my personal prioritization. Thats all. Others might weight differently - and that is totally fine.

Btw. same goes for example for Russia, Turkey and a lot of other countries.

On the other hand - in some countries the negatives are out-weighted by my interest in visiting this country. Greece for example (and I do see lots of things that are very bad there).

Come on, be realistic? If it was not for a political issue/a viewpoint imposed upon by politics what bad things remain? The country isn't solely defined by politics.

Realistic? My personal opinion is unrealistic and allows for others to make fun of?

q.e.d.

> Also starting to wonder why people would still bother going to the USA, as there are several risks involved. Maybe small, but they do still exist.

We're discussing exactly to start removing those risks.

The economy is really great. Especially if you're in tech.

At least that's why I came.

Because we want to visit friends and family.

So they want to check incoming tourists to see if they have Facebook posts supporting ISIS. I don't have a problem with this.

US Customs has said it will be used "for vetting purposes, as well as applicant contact information." It has not said what it will be checking for, so you are concluding something which isn't there.

All they ask for is the account name. How do they check private FB posts given a name?

How do you know they will be checking for FB posts supporting ISIS?

What does "supporting" mean? Would "I support the right of people to resist foreign military attacks" be considered support for ISIS?

How long will the information be stored, and who will have access to it?

Is there anything else they will use for vetting? Perhaps they'll go after hackers as well, including these hackers at Hacker News?

Well, I do. There is a whole host of problems and issues associated with it. One is that the border is a murky legal area, US Constitution is not completely applicable there, and the laws that do work are not sufficiently known to the public.

What a crazy world.

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