US border agents with Homeland Security ask visitors for social media profiles

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

Programme is billed as voluntary but civil liberties groups fear many will feel under pressure to comply

UNITED STATES Customs and Border Protection security officials – part of the Department of Homeland Security – have “quietly” begun a new programme asking non-citizen travellers to reveal their social media presence when entering the country, according to the US-based progressive news website, Democracy Now.

On Tuesday, US Customs and Border Protection started providing foreigners on the visa waiver programme with a computerised drop-down menu asking for their account names on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Although the programme is billed as voluntary, civil liberties groups fear that most travellers will feel pressured to complete the forms and avoid any problems entering the United States or affecting their international travel status.

Many fear the programme threatens free expression and poses new privacy and security risks, Democracy Now says.