A system will be introduced for asking visitors arriving in the USA SNS account information

ByTony Webster

As part of its measures mainly for IS (Islamic state, so-called "Islamic country"), the US government sends visitors entering the United States a social networking service (social networking service) such as Facebook, Twitter, Google + We introduced a system to ask for the name of the account. This is aimed at citizens of some "visa-free countries", which also affects Japanese people.

U.S. government begins asking foreign travelers about social media - POLITICO
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/foreign-travelers-social-media-232930

The U.S. government wants to see Twitter and Facebook accounts of foreign travelers
http://mashable.com/2016/12/23/us-government-social-media-travelers/#DMT5mkDseOqo

Measures are taken mainly on Western countries for ISs that are repeating terrorist acts around the world, but IS is repeatedly speaking at SNS and spreading support. As a means of countering such IS, the US government has added items to inquiries for SNS accounts to visitors entering without visa, on the screen when applying for entry in advance in advance.

This screen is displayed when you need to apply when you enter the United StatesESTA(Esta: Electronic Travel Authentication System) registration screen. The ESTA introduced on January 12, 2009 is obliged to apply to foreigners entering the United States in advance from "visa-exempted country" including Japan, and Japanese will also be required in the future You will be asked for SNS account information on the application screen.

Home | Official ESTA Application Website, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/application.html?execution=e3s1


Items asking for SNS accounts appear on the second page of the application page, "Enter Applicant Information".


Next to the field where you enter your e-mail address, the item "Social media (option)" will appear. Service names such as Facebook, Google +, LinkdIn and Twitter that are widely used in Japan are jamming in the pull-down menu, and after selecting the service, write the account name in the "Social media name" column on the right side It has become like.


As described in the item, the SNS account is an option item and filling in is not mandatory. However, voices have been raised against groups by domestic organizations as well. Organizations of companies such as Facebook, Google, AmazonInternet AssociationWas criticizing that participating in the camp of the consumer side at the stage where this measure was being debatched, "hindering free will argument and risking privacy and safety to foreigners" However, I am angry with the government that introduced the system in a way that pushes that voice.

Also,The American Free Human Rights AssociationMichael W. Macleod - Ball of Michael W. Macleod - Ball said that there are few provisions on how to gather information and spread it to other institutions, and there are also guidelines on how the government uses information There is a right to gather information ... The government wishes to pay attention to privacy concerns expressed by the protesting group so far, "he says.

The US Customs and Border Protection Bureau spokesperson replies to the news media · POLITICO that this measure is "to recognize potential threats".

As mentioned above, the item about the SNS account is not mandatory and it is the part that is left to individual judgment. However, by not filling in this item, there is a possibility of encountering questions by staff wearing uniforms at the time of entry, so applicants may inadvertently write SNS accounts to avoid this , And some voices have been criticized by human rights protection organizations.