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U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

nytimes.com

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Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#181

Post by neilalexander »

js8 wrote: post #142
neilalexander wrote: post #121

As controversial as it may be, is it really that surprising to anyone that governments want this sort of information on tap about anyone, not just immigrants? We need to stop expecting social media platforms to respect our privacy. They don't. They won't. What you post on Facebook and Twitter is as good as public domain. You really shouldn't be surprised to find something that you had posted in either a government fi…

I downvoted you. Social media are a new category. It's not like writing to the newspapers, yet it's not like telling somebody in private. And society will still have to figure out where to draw the line. Is searching your social media a search? I mean, I think by U.S. laws, searching a large hall which only purpose is to meet with other people, even large number and by invitation, still requires a warrant.

Posting to Facebook isn’t completely unlike writing to a newspaper. You send something to Facebook and it is syndicated to whomever. How and when it gets syndicated is down to Facebook, not you, and even if you delete it then you have no guarantee that it was actually deleted. You don’t really own that information anymore.

Same goes for Twitter and Instagram etc.

It’s a mistake to believe that the information you post won’t be made public in some way, whether to a government or another private company or individual. How can we declare that a social media capture, in that case, is a “search”? It isn’t really a “search” - it’s practically there for the taking.

Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#183

Post by Deadstartups »

snarf21 wrote: post #177
knz wrote: post #122

As a permanent resident with a pending citizenship application (who came on the visa mentioned at the end of this article), I find this incredibly alarming. I have nothing to hide, despise terrorism and the fanatics that commit it, and wish no harm on others with different social, political, or religious views. But I'm familiar enough with history to know how badly this can end. "Papers please" had consequences, espe…

This is scary and keeps getting worse. As a citizen, I'm even worried about traveling and coming back. Do I want my phone confiscated because a friend from high school tagged me in a political post a random border patrol agent disagrees with? or worse? Remember, they have not stopped any terrorist attacks in the US with all the new surveillance since 9/11 (to my knowledge). "Those who would give up essential Liberty,…

Exactly - this is the same reasoning I use as a counter argument to gun-control propositions.

Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#185

Post by makecheck »

Among the many illegitimate reasons to demand online accounts, there are definitely 100%-fake profiles. I have seen this with friends: something that IS their picture and their “name” (though the scammer probably added spaces or something). Great. Just imagine, someone at the airport first asking leading questions like “is this you?”, then demanding that you log in; and since you won’t be able to, now what? Then suppose they have “evidence” of what “you” have been doing with this account.

Even important digital information isn’t being secured correctly (Equifax) so this is not exactly the best time to be attaching new importance to stuff that is easier to emulate or steal.

It also can’t come at a worse time from a “social media exhaustion” point of view. I haven’t used stuff like Facebook in months. I’m further from this crap than I was even last year, and the last thing I want is to have to dip back into the cesspool to appease the authorities.

Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#188

Post by brentm »

CaptSpify wrote: post #124
brentm wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The majority of people in the US disagree with everything going on right now and we welcome everyone. We will right the ship in the next 2-3 years.

As an American, I'm not sure I agree. This ship has been sinking for a long time, and I don't see much pressure from anyone to right it.

Besides the culture wars and this current (in my opinion) backward looking view on immigration I am not sure I'd agree that the ship is sinking. Overall things are good, there is just a lot of negativity & division that I think that is being driven by profitable propaganda on both sides.

Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#189

Post by neilalexander »

matt4077 wrote: post #146
neilalexander wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the biggest mistake that people make. Social media is NOT a private sphere. There's nothing remotely private about posting things to a public service on the Internet over which you have no control. We need to stop treating them as such.

I also don't control the phone company, the post office, or my friends' email providers. Am I supposed to never communicate with them unless it's face-to-face? I'm not talking nuclear launch codes here. It's impossible to lead a normal life without using communication services, and it's some sort of fantasy to think you could, for example, organize your social life without leaving enough clues to create a pretty accu…

There’s a distinction to be made between communication services and social media.

Personal communications should of course be private, but social media is not a form of personal communication. It’s a form of broadcast, usually to a company’s servers you have absolutely zero control over.

You don’t need to “cosplay MI6” to be diligent with what you share and what you don’t. You should just be prepared to assume that anything you post on social media can and will appear in the future.

Re: U.S. To Collect Social Media Data on All Immigrants Entering Country

#190

Post by iraphael »

Chris2048 wrote: post #172
jameshart wrote: post #101

For any Americans thinking 'well, at least this doesn't affect me as a natural born citizen', you should be aware that one of the most common principles applied to visa and passport control activity by countries is 'reciprocity'. That is, countries look at how the US treats their citizens at the American port of entry, and turn around and apply that same standard to Americans. So the next time you turn up at the Cana…

Funny how 'reciprocity' doesn't seem to apply to taxes or extradition.. edit: Taxes; Even in the EU, forms will ask about American tax status, because an American citizen living abroad must still file taxes. I must provide this information, despite never having been an American Citizen. Extradition; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK%E2%80%93US_extradition_trea...

[citation needed]
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