US visa applicants may have to reveal the passwords of their social media accounts

John Kelly, the US Homeland Security Secretary has said that in the future background verification of the US visa applicants, they may be asked to reveal the passwords of their social media accounts by the US Embassies. He said that this move was aimed to enable stringent inspection of the visitors to the US who could pose a threat to the nation’s security.

John Kelly that this measure was being considered for visitors to the US, especially for visitors from the seven Muslim-majority nations as they have a very weak internal security checks in place. The seven nations are Somalia, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Sudan.

He was speaking at the trail at the House Homeland Security Committee and said that certainly increased screening measures could be anticipated. The visitors might have to also reveal their passwords for social media accounts, added Kelly.

Elaborating on the difficulty in screening the visitors from these seven nations, Kelly said that the visitors from these Muslim majority nations will may have to reveal their passwords to keep track of their internet browsing history. In case they refuse to co-operate with the security measures, they will be refused entry to the US, explained Kelly.

John Kelly clarified that though no formal decision was so far taken in this regard; tough screening process would be definitely introduced in the future, even if this implied delays in processing of the US visas to the visitors. This was one of the few measures that are being considered, added Kelly.

The information related to the social media accounts of the travelers would be asked and in case if they really intend to enter the US they will have to reveal the information or make way of the other applicants in queue.

It has to be noted that these seven nations were banned entry for their refugees and immigrants in the executive order signed by Trump which is as of now blocked by an adverse verdict from the court.