A number of reports have been doing the rounds suggesting that the US Department of Homeland Security may soon ask individuals to disclose their social media passwords while applying for a visa.
The reports added that Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told Congress the measure was one of several being considered to vet refugees and visa applicants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
If the ruling is passed, it is for the seven countries that are undergoing a thorough vetting process. “It’s very hard to truly vet these people in these countries, the seven countries... but if they come in, we want to say, what websites do they visit, and give us your passwords. So we can see what they do on the internet,” Kelly reportedly said.
A press release by the department, dated February 3, said, "These seven countries are the only countries to which the pause on entry applies. No other countries face such treatment. Nor have any other countries been identified as warranting future inclusion at this time, contrary to false reports."
While there may be a lot of criticism over the move, the US has previously considered passing a resolution where they ask visitors for their passwords. A June 2016 report by The New York Times suggests that the federal government under Barack Obama had proposed adding a line to forms filled out by visitors to the United States that would ask them to voluntarily disclose their social media accounts, a step that it said would help in screening for ties to terrorism.
In December 2015, the then US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that his department has been consulting social media in reviews of immigration applications since early this year, hitting back at criticism that U.S. authorities are not doing enough to weed out potential security threats.
Questions arose after it came to light that one of the shooters in the Dec. 2 killings of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, Tashfeen Malik, entered the United States on a K1 or 'fiancée' visa. The Los Angeles Times had then reported she had pledged her support to Islamic jihad in a private Facebook post.
Johnson at the time had said his department began consulting social media early this year before granting certain immigration benefits but did not specify which ones.
"We had policies in place regarding consulting social media which in my judgment, particularly in this current environment, were too restrictive," Johnson told reporters at the unveiling of a revamped terrorism alert system.
A Reuters report also suggests that since at least June 2010, the department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Centre has been operating a "Social Networking/Media Capability" which involves regular monitoring of "publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards."
The purpose of the monitoring, says the government document, is to "collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture."
With Inputs from Reuters
