The Donald Trump’s administration has disclosed its readiness to begin collecting social media posts of US Visa applicants to vet before giving out visa.
According to the US department, all applicants will be required to state all details of their identities on Social Media [Facebook and Twitter] for the past five years.
US Visa applicants would also be asked for five years of their telephone numbers, email addresses, and travel history. They would be required to state if they had ever been deported from a country, or if any relatives had been involved in terrorist activity.
Officials defended the proposal by saying it would help to identify potential extremists.
According to the State Management, the latest development comes after 14 Americans died in 2015 when the shooting incident occurred in San Bernadino, California. Authorities say it would have seen and halted the San Bernadino incident if they were privy to the attackers social media handles.
Donald Trump after he was sworn-in as President is reported to have promised he will introduce extreme vetting for foreigners entering the United State as a way of fighting terrorism.
Also, a statement from the state department quoted by the New York Times said "Maintaining robust screening standards for visa applicants is a dynamic practice that must adapt to emerging threats,"
"We already request limited contact information, travel history, family member information, and previous addresses from all visa applicants. Collecting this additional information from visa applicants will strengthen our process for vetting these applicants and confirming their identity."
However, the idea is subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget and thereafter, the public will have two months to comment on the proposal before implemented.
The social media platforms covered in the proposal include Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit and YouTube. The New York Times reports that overseas platforms such as China's Sina Weibo and Russia's VK social network would also be included.
Per statistics, over 14.7 million people a year would be affected if the proposal is implemented.