The Trump administration is increasingly turning to social media as a national security tool to vet immigrants, stoking concerns the move could have a chilling effect on political speech in the U.S. <\/p>\n
The State Department announced last week it is restarting interviews and processing foreign student visas, and applicants will now be required to make their social media accounts public for vetting or face potential denial. <\/p>\n
The agency said it is looking for those \u201cwho pose a threat to U.S. national security,\u201d but critics say the criteria is broad and blurs the line between national surveillance and public expression, especially on private social media accounts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is new, it\u2019s unprecedented,\u201d said Greg Nojeim, the senior counsel and director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never before been the case that a person who had set their social media account to private would have to set it to public in order to be admitted to the United States,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The U.S. government has expanded its monitoring of social media over the past decade, but the Trump administration\u2019s latest focus on student visas marks a new escalation of this practice. <\/p>\n
Social media checks have \u201cbecome more pervasive and ideologically driven over time,\u201d the think tank Brennan Center for Justice wrote in a report<\/a> this year. <\/p>\n Under guidance announced last week<\/a>, consular officers will conduct a \u201ccomprehensive and thorough vetting,\u201d including of the online presence of all student and exchange visitor applicants, a State Department spokesperson told The Hill last week. <\/p>\n Visa applicants will be required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they used in the past five years, the spokesperson said. Omission of social media information could result in denial or ineligibility for future visas. <\/p>\n This was after the State Department paused all processing and new interview appointments for visa applications in May to update its social media policy. <\/p>\n Similar processes are also unfolding at other agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, where the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are surveying<\/a> immigrants\u2019 social media for antisemitic activity. <\/p>\n When pressed over the backlash, a State Department spokesperson said a \u201cU.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAs Secretary [Marco] Rubio said, \u2018This is not about free speech. … No one has a right to a student visa,\u2019\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n It is not clear the specific content State Department consular officers will be looking for, though some believe the change<\/a> is related to the Trump administration\u2019s arrests of pro-Palestinian campus activists this year. <\/p>\n An agency spokesperson said the process will \u201censure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission.\u201d <\/p>\n Some observers fear that vague criteria could confuse applicants and serve as a way for the government to stifle speech critical of the administration or misaligned with U.S. policy. <\/p>\n \u201cCensoring the speech of non-citizens on social media seems to be a purpose of this requirement,\u201d Nojeim told The Hill, adding users will likely be \u201cmore hesitant\u201d to express themselves on social media. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a complete lack of safeguards to protect against arbitrary implementation,\u201d said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. \u201cIt\u2019s completely ripe for discrimination and profiling.\u201d <\/p>\n While the Constitution’s First Amendment does not apply to speech outside the U.S., critics are still alarmed over the administration policy\u2019s larger implications for free speech, especially as the State Department also monitors the social media of student visa holders already in the U.S. <\/p>\n Lee Bollinger, the former president of Columbia University and a constitutional law professor, said social media vetting is \u201cinconsistent with the spirit of the First Amendment.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to find that there is a First Amendment right of foreign people to make a First Amendment claim,\u201d said Bollinger, who specializes in free speech law and the First Amendment. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is an interest of US citizens being able to be around and to talk to and to hear from citizens abroad,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s part of the First Amendment \u2014 not only to be able to speak freely without government interference and censorship, but it\u2019s also a right to hear other people speak.\u201d <\/p>\n While the U.S. government has an interest in ensuring people who are genuine threats to the nation are prohibited from the country, Bollinger noted it is a \u201cvery different policy\u201d from basing it on one\u2019s criticism of the United States. <\/p>\n When asked whether this would affect speech on U.S. campuses, Bollinger said \u201cclearly yes,\u201d while adding he is \u201cfairly confident\u201d courts would find social media vetting for any criticism of the United States would exceed the government\u2019s power. <\/p>\n Even if visa applicants are approved, there is no clear answer on whether the government will stop monitoring their social media once they are in the U.S., noted Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Oxford. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople will self-censor if they want to sustain their visa,\u201d Marginson said. \u201cYou invest a lot in these international education decisions. You invest money, you invest time, family, hopes, and you don\u2019t want to jeopardize any of that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a case where foreigners really won\u2019t be able to exercise what we call normal civil and political rights of free speech.” <\/p>\n These concerns are being amplified by the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI). <\/p>\n \u201cSocial media monitoring is not new … it\u2019s been problematic for a long time,\u201d said Hamadanchy, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s a good example of certain things that have been already ripe for abuse, and now you\u2019ve got an administration who may take it to the next level.\u201d <\/p>\n Various observers told The Hill they were confident a type of automation system, likely powered by artificial intelligence, would be involved in initially scanning these social media accounts. <\/p>\nSocial media vetting begins at State Department <\/h2>\n
Confusion, concerns over criteria <\/h2>\n
Public expression concerns <\/h2>\n
The use of automation <\/h2>\n