From next month a new rule will go into action in the Federal Register posted recently by The Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The update is largely to note that certain government electronic documents are also part of immigrants’ official records as the DHS “moves to conducting more immigrant actions in an electronic environment.” moreover, categories like aliases, search results, associated identifiable information and most importantly social media” is added by the DHS. This collection social media information or snooping will not be limited to new immigrants but this will also apply to all immigrants including permanent residents and naturalized citizens.
Homeland Security
“There’s a growing trend at the Department of Homeland Security to be snooping on the social media of immigrants and foreigners and we think it’s an invasion of privacy and deters freedom of speech.” – Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Adam Schwartz told BuzzFeed regarding DHS’s new rule.
The new rule is open for public comment until October 18th when it will officially be implemented.
