US Government wants DNA and social media from visitors
privacyinternational.org
privacyinternational.org
I would like to request some semblance of nuance. Some awareness of context. At least recognition that differences matter.
- Give them your user names and (when possible) the government subpoenas the companies?
- Give them your user names and they just see what's publicly available?
- Require you to give them your passwords?
- Hook your phone up to some device that steals data on the device?
- Something else?
Does anyone know? I'm also interested in the case where you legitimately don't have social media. Does anyone know what happens then? I understand that can look suspicious, but what if you had to travel to the US unexpectedly? You can't go back in time and build 5 years of social media so you don't look suspicious. (on principle, I wouldn't do this anyway.)
[edit]
And what if your social media is Chinese and private? They just can't do anything then.
That's absolutely crazy, thanks for sharing. We're entering a pretty dark time here. It's easy to imagine that authorities won't really care if you don't have social media and will just deny you out of convenience. If this gets even more entrenched, then social media gets closer to being a requirement. (and a requirement that is quite a personal detriment)
When every service I use has its own email address, that makes it a pain for me to travel and be truthful on the form. I wonder how their AI deals sarcasm: Entry denied, funny-boy!
Regular people give me weird looks when I claim not to use social media.
But there are people here that give their entire life story in their profile, I would say that, for those people, HN is social media.
Though, the Trump regime may see things differently.
This is not what TFA is about though.
TFA is about collecting this information through the ESTA for all visitors of countries part of the visa-waiver program, before the visitor even arrives at the border.
Of course this is all true to the extent that you don't mind spending hours or days in "secondary" since the government does have the right to submit you to inspection at the border. It is also limited by your willingness to pursue your rights, and the government's willingness to abide by court rulings.
I’m quite tired of the executive branch being able to trot out the “for national security” boilerplate argument with minimal data or record keeping to assess the efficacy of various systems and procedures.
I’ve been kept in some random airport security room for something like 2 hours while government officials try to sort out some accidental name collision. I got no useful explanation during or after. I am lucky I didn’t miss my connecting flight. I bet there is currently minimal incentive (if any) to reduce this citizen hassling. Requiring metrics on how much time squandering happens seems like a small step in the right direction.
Now that I think about it, not having mainstream social media or a smart phone would also put you on that list
They will wave you trough the fast trail...
If this comes to pass I'll probably not do that anymore.
> To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public.”
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/20...
Can't wait to get turned away at the border when flying there in a few months for a new job for liking something years ago.
My parents live in the US, they are aware (and accept) this would be a reason I wouldn't be able to visit them and instead we'd have to meet somewhere else.
prints and eyescans in china for 10-15 years now.
Alex Pretti and Renee Good are two that come immediately to mind.
That could be you. And it would be a great thing to do if you worried for the future generations.