- The US government wants to monitor your social media posts at the border
- This can compromise your privacy and freedom of expression.
- Data protection advocates reject this decision
Tourists visiting the US may soon face tighter controls than usual, with proposed new rules including increased monitoring of social media and other equally draconian measures.
HE rule change It was proposed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). If the plans go ahead, every visitor to the country will have their social media posts from the last five years verified before entering the country.
In addition, you are “required” to provide your e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for the last five years, as well as the names, addresses, numbers and dates of birth of your family members. You will also need to provide a photo of yourself and biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scans and even your DNA.
This can be a real headache for travelers and potentially lead to long lines and delays entering the US, depending on how this is implemented. Privacy rights in technology have become a growing concern for users in recent years, with sales of the best VPN apps hitting new highs in the past twelve months as governments around the world seek to collect more and more information about citizens.
Instead of being a place to hang out with friends and look at cat memes, many people likely fear that social media will become a place for surveillance, and CBP’s decision does nothing to alleviate those fears.
A controversial idea
Privacy advocates are understandably concerned about the new proposals, but President Donald Trump doesn’t seem overly concerned about the potential impact on tourists or American tourism.
According to BBCTrump said: “We just want people to come here, and we want them to come here safely. We want safety. We want security. We want to make sure we don’t let bad people into our country.”
As reported, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group dedicated to protecting digital privacy, naturally has different opinions. New York Times. He said CBP’s proposal would “exacerbate the destruction of civil liberties.”
The group added that such action “has not proven effective in tracking down terrorists and other criminals. But it has limited free speech and violated the privacy of innocent travelers and their families, friends and other Americans.”
In theory, the proposed rules would also be easy to circumvent. If anyone is concerned about violating the restrictions, all they need to do is delete social media posts from the last five years and clear their inbox. There are also digital printing services that can do this for you.
It also wouldn’t be surprising if many created secondary social media profiles with no posting history and then made them available to administrative officials. CBP says its proposal will be subject to a 60-day public consultation. Anyone concerned about the implications this may cause can share their views by emailing [email protected].