Foreign visitors may have to hand over social accounts to Border Patrol
- Sara Fischer, author of Axios Media Trends
CNN reported Sunday that Trump administration officials are discussing the possibility of asking visitors to disclose all "websites and social media sites they visit, and to share the contacts in their cell phones." According to the report, visitors could be denied entry to the U.S. should they fail to share such information.
On Saturday, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association tweeted that the process was already happening.
Context: The Obama administration previously approved asking visitors to voluntarily hand over social media information, but never made it mandatory. A government source confirmed to Politico last year that those traveling on a visa waiver program were given an "optional" request to enter information associated with their online presence." At the time, groups such as the ACLU said the Administration needed to tighten their language around the use of information requested.