The US government has begun asking foreign visitors on the visa waiver program to volunteer links to their social media accounts. It comes in the same week that the Dept. of Homeland Security announced it was going to stop its registry of visitors from predominantly Muslim and Arab countries. RT.com reports: Foreign travelers arriving in the United States, participating in the visa waiver program, are being asked by US customs and border guards to volunteer “information associated with your online presence – Provider/Platform – Social media identifier”. Will the optional request for social media account information from visitors to US soon become non-optional? https://t.co/eIROnLDo54 — Ross Dawson (@rossdawson) 23 December 2016 A spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection confirmed the program began on Tuesday, according to Politico. Details about the program emerged in June when the DHS said having access to social media details “will enhance the existing investigative process.” The social media collection program “may help detect potential threats because experience has shown that criminals and terrorists, whether intentionally or not, have provided previously unavailable information via social media that identified their true intentions,” a CBP spokesperson told The Intercept in June, adding “the collection of social media identifiers [...]
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