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U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

usatoday.com

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Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#31

Post by stevenwoo »

iRobbery wrote: post #16

for real? i mean isn't that something those secret agencies should have done so already by fancy machine learning and stuff? And i remember, if you ask something, like a phone-number (of a girl in a club), you don't always get the proper information!

They missed the San Bernadino female's online posting of support for jihad on Facebook, pre-immigration to America. It's seems as if it's the case of scouring the wrong data/too much data (i.e. NSA collecting every telephone call in the USA at this time, while vetting did not look at immigrant social media background so the machine learning would never have helped if it wasn't pointed at the right data source or able to choose the data source) https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/us/san-bernardino-attacks...

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#32

Post by wooter »

jc_811 wrote: post #19

I'm all for privacy and the government not overstepping their bounds, but could someone please let me know why this is so bad? I'm genuinely curious. Your social media info is Public. If you have information public, that is your own fault and the govt can access that regardless if you give them your handles or not. If they were asking for passwords and access to accounts - of course that would be a different ball gam…

I mean, the govt claims that even citizens only own their emails for 6 months. Seems like great, relatively clean training data to match identities.

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#33

Post by stevenwoo »

xaviex wrote: post #8

Do people who travel to other countries REALLY have the gall to post something threatening to the country they are traveling too?

I already posted this, but the San Bernadino female did. We just missed it. The Obama ordered review of the process probably revealed this social media by fiat was inevitable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/us/san-bernardino-attacks...

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#34

Post by jc_811 »

wooter wrote: post #32
jc_811 wrote: post #19

I'm all for privacy and the government not overstepping their bounds, but could someone please let me know why this is so bad? I'm genuinely curious. Your social media info is Public. If you have information public, that is your own fault and the govt can access that regardless if you give them your handles or not. If they were asking for passwords and access to accounts - of course that would be a different ball gam…

I mean, the govt claims that even citizens only own their emails for 6 months. Seems like great, relatively clean training data to match identities.

Is this a legitimate claim they make? If so, is there a source?

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#35

Post by yarrel »

korzun wrote: post #29
PopsiclePete wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define "threatening". It's a slippery slope. Yeah, maybe "Allahu Akbar death to America" is an obvious one, but what about "Fuck Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate accord" - is that "anti-American"?

> "Fuck Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate accord" - is that "anti-American"? Name one country that will grant you VISA if you start yelling similar things about their president.

Not all countries have a president.

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#36

Post by mattnewton »

korzun wrote: post #29
PopsiclePete wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define "threatening". It's a slippery slope. Yeah, maybe "Allahu Akbar death to America" is an obvious one, but what about "Fuck Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate accord" - is that "anti-American"?

> "Fuck Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate accord" - is that "anti-American"? Name one country that will grant you VISA if you start yelling similar things about their president.

The United States needs dissenting opinions to function as a democracy. I don't care one iota what other countries do in that situation.

If we start seriously saying "but it's okay for China to do it, why not us!" we've already reached terminal velocity sliding on that slope.

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#37

Post by jc_811 »

kevinh wrote: post #20
jc_811 wrote: post #19

I'm all for privacy and the government not overstepping their bounds, but could someone please let me know why this is so bad? I'm genuinely curious. Your social media info is Public. If you have information public, that is your own fault and the govt can access that regardless if you give them your handles or not. If they were asking for passwords and access to accounts - of course that would be a different ball gam…

I don't think the ability to lie to government agents is a good argument against a law that allows them to ask for that information. At best it gets you enhanced scrutiny, at worst you go to jail.

Right, I see your point. But I'm saying - they are asking for public information that ANYONE can search for. When you enter the country obviously they have to ask certain questions (or get info from your passport, ie name, DOB, country of origin, etc) - but I feel people get extra worked up for social media simply because it's digital.

If you have public information out there I have no problem with anyone asking for it - it's public after all!

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#38

Post by ajeet_dhaliwal »

Karellen wrote: post #18
mikeash wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For US citizens, they may hassle you a bit but they have to let you in. For non-citizens, any refusal to cooperate will likely result in being refused entry and immediate deportation back to wherever they came from.

I actually don't have, and have never had, a facebook or twitter account. So, if I ever try to go to the US it's likely that that will be seen as "refusal to cooperate"? And I'm likely to be denied entry because of it? Wow.

I'm the same, may be we would be advised to create a Facebook and Twitter account, but then would you be required to keep updating it and actually using it?

Re: U.S. now can ask travelers for Facebook, Twitter handles

#40

Post by alimoeeny »

jc_811 wrote: post #19

I'm all for privacy and the government not overstepping their bounds, but could someone please let me know why this is so bad? I'm genuinely curious. Your social media info is Public. If you have information public, that is your own fault and the govt can access that regardless if you give them your handles or not. If they were asking for passwords and access to accounts - of course that would be a different ball gam…

No, It is not public info, you can have social media accounts that are not obviously / publicly "your" accounts.
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