The US government asks tourists wishing to visit the country, the usernames from the social media they own.
Do you want to get a tourist entry permit for the USA? In the new application you will find on the page Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which is part of the program US Visa Waiver you should also fill in information for social media that you have at your disposal. The US Visa Waiver program is a program ofchanges US Visa which allows citizens of 38 countries to visit the US for 90 days without a visa.
The addition to the social media form was first proposed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in June 2016. The form specifically urges you: "Please enter information related to your online presence" and a drop-down menu along with a text box allows applicants to select a social media service (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and enter the username they use on it.
No, they do not ask for a password. We do not think they need it anyway. However, according to the US CBP, the aim of this change is to identify possible terrorist threats. The CBP wrote last June that the data collection social media θα ενισχύσει την υπάρχουσα procedure investigation and will provide greater clarity and transparency into potential illegal activity and connections”.
Naturally, the proposal to fill in social media has been critical and protesting, as it was logical. Many human rights groups and groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, published an open letter last August in 2016 expressing their "serious concerns".
It seems that these protests were the cause of the option of delivering usernames to be voluntary but due to the fact that the process to enter the US is confusing, it is likely that most visitors will fully fill the card rather than risk additional intimidating questions from uniformed officers.
