10 Oct WOULD YOU SNAP CHAT WITH DHS?! You Just Might Be…
DHS and social media monitoring; Changes to take effect October 18, 2017
Ever since the “operational use of social media” was sanctioned by the US government in 2012, the public has been skeptical about the scope of online investigations and how information will be used. Last month, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) silently updated its privacy policy on social media, which is open to comment before it is effective on October 18th of this year.
The policy change allows the DHS to investigate “social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search results” and compile them into the applicant’s “alien file,” AKA “A-file.” A-File is the term used for the government’s file, in which DHS compiles and maintains information on legal immigrants, permanent residents, even naturalized citizens in the course of one’s immigration to the US. US citizens are also unknowingly being watched when interacting with persons of such status.
According to DHS, the updated policy on social media is an effort to protect national security in response to the increased online radicalization, said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. DHS hopes to better assess risks posed by aliens entering United States by using social media screening. However, no legal definition of “search results” was given by the DHS, nor justification on why such measures are needed. How far are they searching? Are our personal interactions being monitored? How is that helpful? In fact, prior internet monitoring “pilot” programs revealed this type of “digital surveillance” to be unreliable, with no proven security benefits.
Although information posted on social media is technically public, the knowledge that DHS is watching, collecting, and storing this data will surely have a chilling effect even on those with innocent and unrelated intentions and will serve as a deterrence against Free Speech; a right which everyone in the US enjoys. Faiza Patel, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, said in an interview with VICE News: “(a)s a naturalized citizen, I would certainly be concerned that DHS is holding onto my social media information in order to engage in some type of ongoing monitoring of what I say online.”
What are your thoughts? Will this make you “watch what you say” online? Hit the Contact button and let us know! Some interesting sources for more on this topic are below.
Federal sources:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/09/18/2017-19365/privacy-act-of-1974-system-ofrecords#h-22
https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_privcomrev_ops_monitoring_initiative.pdf
https://www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-office-operations-coordination-and-planning
News articles:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2016/02/11/homeland-security-to-amp-upsocial-media-screening-to-stop-terrorism-johnson-says/?utm_term=.ea92d557d665
https://news.vice.com/story/immigrants-social-media-will-be-collected-and-kept-forever-by-dhs
http://immigrationimpact.com/2017/09/29/dhs-monitor-immigrants-social-media-information/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/us/politics/immigrants-social-media-trump.html
http://ucsdguardian.org/2017/10/01/dhs-monitoring-immigrant-social-media-info-unjustifiable-andpotentially-dangerous/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dhs-monitoring-of-social-media-worriescivil-liberties-advocates/2012/01/13/gIQANPO7wP_story.html?utm_term=.0ebd9450040f
https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/dhs-monitoring-social-media/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/adolfoflores/people-are-worried-about-dhs-plans-to-gather-socialmedia?utm_term=.veMXX5GyP#.ft5AAxDMp
https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-social-media-immigrants-green-card/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/stop-dhs-social-media-monitoring-immigrants
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/09/29/dhss-s29.html