Last year it was reported that visitors coming into the US might have to provide border agents with their social media information. The general idea is that they want to see what kind of things you’ve been posting, and whether or not you might pose a threat to national security. However it seems that things are about to get worse.According to a report from NBC News (via CNET), Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee that asking for social media passwords could be next. Kelly was quoted as saying, “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.”
Given that the things we share publicly might not necessarily be representative of who we are and our true feelings/intentions, gaining access to one’s social media account could unearth more intimate details, such as posts that are hidden, private messages, hidden groups that one could be part of, and so on.
Naturally many would regard this as a massive breach of privacy, but thankfully for now this is only an idea that the Department of Homeland Security is considering. Whether or not it will be enacted remains to be seen.
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