WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2019) A US decision to begin requiring all visa applicants to disclose social media accounts threatens freedom of expression while doing little to protect national security, the human rights group Freedom House warned on Tuesday.
"Collecting and monitoring the social media accounts of visa applicants will have an undue chilling effect on freedom of expression for immigrants and individuals seeking to visit the United States," Freedom House President Mike Abramowitz said in a press release.
Abramowitz added that past research has failed to show a national security benefit from social media monitoring.
In addition data gathering of content posted in languages other than English is susceptible to misinterpretation and false alarms, especially when agencies use automated tools to scan through millions of posts, Abramowitz warned.
Newly adopted rules at the US Department of State stipulate that nearly all applicants for US visas will have to submit social media account Names, a change that will affect more than 14 million people annually, according to the release.
