A proposal has been submitted to the Federal Register for the Department of Homeland Security to consider asking arriving Visa Waiver travelers to submit their social media information.
This proposal would seek travelers to provide their social media handles (Twitter / Facebook) in a designated field of the I-94W which would be marked ‘optional’.
Social media information can be used for many things though it’s entirely clear how it would be accessed if the profile settings are marked ‘private’. Twitter accounts are easier to be monitored as it’s a public profile. Travelers who previously made controversial statements such as supporting terrorism or announce they go to the U.S. for other purposes than allowed under the visa waiver program would have some explaining to do.
It’s already common for Customs and Border Protection to use google in order to quickly research suspicious individuals.
You can find the Federal Register entry here.
By Sebastian Powell, Loyalty Lobby, excerpt posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com July 3, 2016
