Esta

[Welshjim22]

Originally Posted by sha9

No definitely not but I suspect it’s only optional for now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes compulsory unless the next election makes a change.

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This question predates trump.

[bighal]

If the US forced people to give details of social media accounts the it would include any website where you have an account and a profile page and where you can leave comments and interact with people. This means you could be having to give access to 30+ or more accounts if you are a member of loads of forums and websites. This would include even the BBC if you have an account to access iPlayer as you can then also leave comments on certain news articles.
The problem is there isn't a clear definition of what is social media. It's not just Facebook Twitter etc. Anyway if some is up to no good they won't be using Facebook or Twitter unless they are total idiots..

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by toonarmani

People will no doubt start setting up secondary profiles and submitting those details to avoid giving genuine information if/when they make it compulsory.

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Unless you manage to spoof your IP address, the details will still be available and you've just made yourself look suspicious by creating the secondary profiles.

[Forkbeard]

Some really interesting responses here. Personally I think the request for passwords won't happen. It's too difficult to process and yields very little dividends for the effort involved.

Access to criminal records however is much more likely, but how likely I don't know. They certainly share terrorist data, but no one here would argue they shouldn't.

Originally Posted by toonarmani

Why would it be a problem if they have access to criminal records? Some would say it's a good thing and would stop people lying on their ESTA?

Or are you looking at this from the child's perspective who may have a parent who wouldn't be able to travel?

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It's not a problem if you believe for example that someone who commits a crime in their youth must be punished indefinitely in this way.

Personally I don't, and even if I did I'd like to see the statistics that demonstrates just how unsafe the US becomes without this UK data.

Remember the US may deny entry even for an arrest, not even a charge. It depends on the scope of the data access, and what constitutes criminal records.

It is sad for the whole family, not just the children.

Originally Posted by bighal

But that's not wholesale and probably only for US citizens and on a case by case. Facebook still has to abide by EU regulations if it wants to operate in Europe, which does. Think of the back lash over the Cambridge Analytical scandal and that would pale into insignificance if Facebook gave the US government unlimited access to its data.

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I'm not aware of the scope of the access. It's possible that ONLY US citizens data can be accessed?!?

If memory serves it was Snowden who claimed that the UK intelligence wrote the software that enables US intelligence services to snoop mobile phones. Now if the EU were as you say interested in this, why haven't those claims been investigated?

Backlashes don't mean much to me because exposure of government negligence/corruption occurs all too frequently.

Facebook, after the senate hearings, sent me a privacy update for each of my Facebook accounts. Not only hadn't they done as one senator suggested, but they'd actually reset ALL my privacy settings to minimum privacy and did their level best to fool me into thinking that was the right choice.

Originally Posted by bighal

If the US forced people to give details of social media accounts the it would include any website where you have an account and a profile page and where you can leave comments and interact with people. This means you could be having to give access to 30+ or more accounts if you are a member of loads of forums and websites. This would include even the BBC if you have an account to access iPlayer as you can then also leave comments on certain news articles.

The problem is there isn't a clear definition of what is social media. It's not just Facebook Twitter etc.

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Agreed and it's this nonsense that proves just how stupid they are. You can imagine the Dibbers asking "Does <INSERT WBSITE HERE> count as social media?"

Originally Posted by bighal

Anyway if some is up to no good they won't be using Facebook or Twitter unless they are total idiots..

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Agreed.

It wouldn't have prevented 911

Originally Posted by JohnD

Unless you manage to spoof your IP address, the details will still be available and you've just made yourself look suspicious by creating the secondary profiles.

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Whatever way we look at it secondary profiles still means people will need to be willing to lie and cross their fingers that immigration don't have a way to find out.

I doubt many people will be comfortable lying.