Traveling abroad is a very meticulous procedure. There are certain steps to follow to ensure that you are traveling safely and legally. Also, the powers-that-be are willing to be as invasive as possible in their so-called attempts to thwart international crime and terror. New developments have emerged out of the federal government, namely US Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. A new proposal has been made to force travelers to come up off their social media information before boarding flights.
This proposal is titled “Agency Information Collection Activities: Arrival and Departure Record (Forms I-94 and I-94W) and Electronic System for Travel Authorization,” and listed with the Office of the Federal Register. According to Loyalty Lobby:
Travelers who previously made controversial statements such as supporting terrorism or announce they go to the U.S. for other purposes than allowed under the visa waiver program would have some explaining to do.
According to the Federal Register’s summary of the proposal:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: CBP Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record), CBP Form I-94W (Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure), and the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This is a proposed extension and revision of an information collection that was previously approved. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with a revision to the information collected. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.
One of the proposed changes to ETSA and the I-94W form, according to official documents is as follows:
“Please enter information associated with your online presence—Provider/Platform—Social media identifier.” It will be an optional data field to request social media identifiers to be used for vetting purposes, as well as applicant contact information. Collecting social media data will enhance the existing investigative process and provide DHS greater clarity and visibility to possible nefarious activity and connections by providing an additional tool set which analysts and investigators may use to better analyze and investigate the case.
Of course, the divulging of your social media in the I-94W form will be marked as “optional,” so you have a choice whether or not to share. Just stay woke. This could be the first of a few steps to the invasion of your online privacy.
Read the full proposal here.