Belgians could face strict screening of their social media if they wish to travel to the United States | VRT NWS: news
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Belgians that wish to travel to the United States of America could soon face far stricter screening if a proposal submitted by US Customs and Border Protection (C.B.P.) is adopted. The ‘New York Times’ reports that visitors from Belgium and another 41 countries, most of which in Europe, could face having their social media activity from as much as the previous 5 years screened by US officials before they are given the all-clear to travel to the States.

“In a document filed on Tuesday in the Federal Register, C.B.P. said it plans to ask applicants for a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children.”

    • Mirshe@lemmy.world
      0·
      4 days ago

      Oh no, this is intentional data harvesting from businesses. A lot of businesses also rely on the ESTA to travel to the US. All this data is gonna be trawled by the CIA, because the administration has openly stated one of their goals is to destabilize and break apart the EU. This way, you find weak points - who can be bought, who can be blackmailed, who can be easily tipped into radicalizing by putting them in connection with far-right influences in their country of origin.

      It’s what the US did in Latin America, but updated for the digital age.