Federal Judge Upholds State Department Rule Requiring Visa Applicants to Disclose Social Media Information
www.eff.org
Since 2019, people applying for a visa to the United States have had to register their social media accounts with the U.S. government as part of the application process. Two U.S.-based documentary film organizations that regularly collaborate with non-U.S. filmmakers and other international...

Summary

  • A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a rule that requires visa applicants to disclose their social media accounts to the U.S. government.

  • The rule, which went into effect in 2019, applies to visa applicants from all countries.

  • The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, two U.S.-based documentary film organizations, argued that the rule violated the First Amendment rights of visa applicants.

  • It’s unclear if the plaintiffs plan to appeal the ruling.

Additional Details

  • The rule requires visa applicants to disclose their social media identifiers, including pseudonymous accounts, for the past five years.

  • The plaintiffs argued that the rule would chill free speech and association, as visa applicants would be less likely to express themselves on social media if they knew that the government could see their posts.

  • The ruling is a reminder of the challenges faced by people who want to protect their privacy online.

  • @ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
    51•10 months ago

    This is why I emigrated out of the US after the Patriot Act was enacted and I haven’t come back since. I saw the writing on the wall back then and it sure wasn’t lying…

    Visiting the US today is like visiting Germany in 1936: yeah you can. But do you really want to?

    • @ISOmorph@feddit.de
      29•10 months ago

      While I agree with you, EU is currently expected to enforce client side scanning on all devices in the EU, basically outlawing e2ee. Where the fuck are we supposed to live that isn’t a fascist hellhole?