In a move for further protection against terrorist activities, the United States Customs and Border Protection proposed that tourists visiting the country should reveal their identities on social media platforms.
The proposal, which the Federal Register announced last week, would insert a new line to the I-94 and I-94W forms that are filled out by tourists with no visa under the Visa Waiver Program who are planning to stay in the United States for a maximum of 90 days for business, leisure or other purposes. The line would ask tourists for their social media identifiers, which includes their account names and handles on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The additional line does not ask for anything more than social media identifiers, though it will likely cause tourists who are not paying attention to the question to also reveal the passwords to their social media accounts.
According to the agency, answering the question is optional for tourists. However, while they will not be forced to reveal their social media accounts, blank spaces will of course raise questions on the identity of the person.
"Collecting social media data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide DHS greater clarity and visibility to possible nefarious activity and connections by providing an additional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better analyze and investigate the case," noted the government on the Federal Register.
The proposal comes in the wake of terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad by individuals who appeared to have shared their views on their social media accounts.
Online presence is an important factor in tracking potential terrorist activities, a fact that pushed a physicist and his team to develop a computer algorithm that goes through posts on social media to try to predict an upcoming terrorist attack. The algorithm is focused on VK, a Russia-based social media website that contains pro-ISIS pages.
The form that the Customs and Border Protection is looking to amend is the same one that was recently changed with President Barack Obama's approval of the improvement on the Visa Waiver Program and the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, which added new questions for tourists entering the United States.
The form now also asks tourists about the countries they have visited since March 1, 2011, along with the countries of which they are citizens or nationals and the ones for which they have passports and global entry codes.
