US Border Control Wants Visitors to Bare Social Media Accounts

Social media accounts may become part of the visa screening process for entry into the United States in a bid to thwart terrorists, The Guardian reported.

The nation's Customs and Border Protection is proposing that I-94W and electronic entry forms be updated to include the line: "Please enter information associated with your online presence—Provider/Platform — Social media identifier."

That means those entering the country would have to reveal to officials their presence on Facebook, Twitter and other online accounts.

The change, published by the U.S. Federal Register and obtained by London's Guardian newspaper, is being proposed by Customs because "collecting social media data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide Department of Homeland Security (DHS) greater clarity and visibility to possible nefarious activity."

It will provide an additional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better analyze and investigate the case," the agency said. The proposal will be debated later this year.

According to The Guardian, the U.S. government approves around 10 million visa applications every year and had 77.5 million foreign visitors in 2015.

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