14 DAY TRIAL // Handing over your social media passwords may soon be something you’ll be asked to do by US border agents. If you’re already getting riled up, that’s completely understandable, and you’re not alone.
“We want to get on their social media, with passwords: What do you do, what do you say? If they don’t want to cooperate then you don’t come in,” said John Kelly, Homeland Security Secretary in front of the House Homeland Security Committee, NBC News reports.
Kelly’s speech before Congress addressed Trump’s immigration ban, which has already been nixed by a federal judge. He considers that password request was an idea that Homeland Security was currently taking into consideration as a method to tighten security at the borders. Another idea they were toying with was asking visitors for their financial records.
A history of snooping
This isn’t anything new when it comes to US authorities. The idea to get their hands on people’s private data on social media goes back many years. Social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, or any other, for that matter, can offer a huge amount of data on people’s private lives, their interests, and their friends. Asking people for their passwords goes one step beyond what they’re already doing, which is checking out people’s public information on social networks.
The immigration ban imposed by Trump nearly two weeks ago via executive order targeted residents of seven predominantly-Muslim countries, as well as refugees from all over the world. Dozens of tech companies have rallied against the measure, alongside many other companies across the US. The fate of the order is now in the courts as a judge already decided against it. The court of appeal is next on the line to make a judgment regarding the order. During this time, Trump has taken to Twitter to attack the judicial system, forgetting just how things work in a democracy.