zlacker

>>el_dud+(OP)
The US is forcing its tourists to give away a list of all their social media accounts and all their email accounts. If you're a foreign journalist writing pseudonymously for your safety, you must now share that information with the US government to enter the country. This isn't quite on the level of forcing people to install malware on their phone yet, but give it a couple years.

>>murbar+04
On the last ESTA form I saw, they were asking not for all, but specific accounts. Apart from fb and Twitter there was also github, but I don’t remember seeing mastedon for example. Did I miss something?

>>lixtra+G6
The ESTA will be a bit different, but the exact question from the US visa application is:

7. Public-facing social media platforms and identifiers/handles used during the last five years. This includes any websites or applications the applicant has used to create or share content (photos, videos, status updates, etc.) as part of a public profile.

I was advised by my lawyer that this covers Reddit and HN, and Facebook/Instagram (if I had any of those which I don't any more).

The lawyer didn't mention github however, but someone can search my name and find that in 1 click anyway, that's hardly private information.

>>rwmj+d7
Haven’t read up on this, but looks like if they’re looking for graphs they would include linked in profiles too...

>>mc32+za
Yeah I guess they have a watchlist of social media accounts and look for anyone who applies with one of those accounts or is N steps away (where hopefully N <= 1, because anything else leads to madness).

>>rwmj+kb
That’s my guess as well. They’re probably only looking at “bigger” sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, WeChat, and maybe YouTube.

But, it’s the broadness of the definition that’s of concern. That forum you registered at a year ago to ask a random question, never to return? Covered. Dating sites? Yep. Stack Overflow, Quora, etc. definitely. Yelp? For sure.

Then there are sites you can probably twist the definition to cover. Amazon might make this list, since you have the ability to post a public “wish list.” Things like Rover would count, because you have a “pet profile” and can post reviews of sitters, even though nobody says Rover is a social networking app.

Then there’s the class of “sites an adversary with unlimited resources for lawyers” might press to include. You posted a comment on a random blog? We consider your comment history to be your “public profile,” etc. The potential for overreach is huge, even if we don’t get to absurd levels such as this.