U.S. considers law requiring social media accounts be reviewed in visa application process

How would you feel about world governments looking at your Facebook page before deciding whether to let you visit their nation? Well, in the U.S., that hypothetical might become a reality if the House Judiciary Committee has its way. Lawmakers are writing up legislation that would require visa applicants' social media accounts to be reviewed before they get approval to enter the country.

PBS reports the legislation appears to be at least partly in response to allegations that the San Bernardino shooters preceded their carnage with public posts on Facebook about jihad and the violence they would go on to commit — allegations, it is worth noting, that have since been proven untrue.

Still, the House Judiciary Committee and Department of Homeland Security have begun taking a closer look at policy changes that would allow authorities at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services access to visa applicants' Facebook and Twitter accounts before granting visas to enter the country. Three different Homeland Security pilot programs have already launched this year that examine social media posts and other online information during the vetting process.

Allowing the government unfettered access to various social media profiles would most likely require the cooperation of the companies themselves, if not their outright blessing. California Senator Dianne Feinstein last week introduced legislation of her own that would require social media companies to alert law enforcement organizations of "terrorist activity" happening within their walled, digital gardens.

The legislation is expected to be resisted by the technology sector due to its impact on free speech, and the difficulty in measuring the severity of what is said online. And any such legislation would have to pass several highly publicized hurdles before eventually being written into law.