Tech, advocacy groups slam DHS call to demand foreign travelers' passwords

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Technology advocacy groups and trade associations representing companies such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft criticized a suggestion from the head of the Department of Homeland Security that foreign nationals should provide social media passwords to enter the US. “This proposal would enable border officials to invade people’s privacy by examining years of private emails, texts, and messages,” the groups wrote in a letter. "It would expose travelers and everyone in their social networks, including potentially millions of US citizens, to excessive, unjustified scrutiny.”

The letter rejecting collecting non-citizen’s social media passwords was prompted by Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly’s comments during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. The letter’s signatories included trade groups such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the Internet Association. Google, Facebook and Amazon belong to both groups. Other signatories included the American Library Association, Internews and Access Now.


Tech, advocacy groups slam DHS call to demand foreign travelers' passwords No to DHS Social Media Password Requirement (read the letter)