back to article Ever visited a land now under Islamic State rule? And you want to see America? Hand over that Facebook, Twitter, pal

US embassies have been told to examine social media accounts of visa applicants who have ever set foot in Islamic-State-controlled areas. The edict was sent out earlier this month by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in diplomatic cables. These memos, leaked to journalists and revealed on Friday, direct officials to identify " …

  1. taxythingy

    Might it be that what they really want is not your current account, though that would be nice, but instead to see if you have given what they determine to be your current account or a false one? With the latter being a rather large red flag.

    Also that it gives them one more "you lied" reason to deport someone they don't like?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I have been to Luton and Bradford, does that count?!

  2. Cheshire Cat

    What if...

    What if you don't have a twitter account? Will you not be allowed in until you make one?

    1. SteveK

      Re: What if...

      But then you won't be allowed in because it's too new and empty looking.

      Please come back when you're following the endless ramblings of at least 100 vacuous celebrities.

      1. Oengus

        Re: What if...

        Please come back when you're following the endless ramblings of at least 100 vacuous celebrities and Donald Trump both personally and as POTUS.

        FTFY

  3. Bloodbeastterror

    There's concern for safety, and then there's paranoia...

    1. Rich 11

      ...and then there's security theatre, and then there are stupid ideas which aren't going to do anyone any good.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The key word is 'Ever'

    That means anyone who might have visited the area pre-Saddam.

    And those who were exiled under Saddam and are settled in another country.

    Anyone in say the British Armed Forces who might have served in Iraq alongside er???? Americans

    As usual, the US goes for total overkill and a lot of totally innocent people will be caught up in their search for these mythical 'terrorists under every bed' who are trying to get into the USA when most terrorist acts in the US are carried out by 1) people born there or 2) Legally there already.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The key word is 'Ever'

      From what we have seen in the UK, EU and, yes even the US, in the last 12 months I don't think the terrorists are 'mythical'.

      Yes, many of them are home grown but you have to look at where they got their ideas and training. It is the latter that this vetting is aimed at.

      1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        I don't think anyone believes that terrorists don't exist. The problem is that the security services appear to keep us in fear of these hordes terrorists.

        According to UK Parliament, between 2001 & 2016, there are have been 53 deaths due to terrorists.

        In 2013, there were nearly 1,800 deaths on the road.

        There's also this Huffington Post article from 2012 which says that more people were killed by bees & wasps than by terrorism.

        1. Rob Gr

          Re: The key word is 'Ever'

          "There's also this Huffington Post article from 2012 which says that more people were killed by bees & wasps than by terrorism."

          What do you think is behind the development of pesticides that are threatening bees with extinction?

      2. Uffish

        Re: The key word is Mythical

        Yipee-ky-yay iAy-caramba !!! It seems that I will be a designated potential usual suspect, I have made repeated visits to Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and even the USA. Of course that was when a lot of people did that for straightforward, non-dodgy, international trade reasons or even holidays. Now I am planning a short holiday in the USA. Also I don't now have, and never have had, a social media account.

        I expect that my faith in normal human behaviour will be justified and that the holiday will be great.

        I could, however, imagine with YUGE outrage, that brainwashed goons will keep me and my wife locked up for several hours and then deport us, at our expense and ban us from ever again defiling the sacred ground of the USA. What do you think?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The key word is Mythical

          @Uffish

          You might have a great holiday in the USA, or you might get deported for spurious reasons at great expense to yourself (and I doubt your travel insurance will cover that). With your travel history it seems likely that being harassed by TSA at the airport is a fairly good bet.

          Why take the risk? There are plenty of more civilised countries you could visit instead.

          1. TheVogon

            Re: The key word is Mythical

            "Why take the risk? There are plenty of more civilised countries you could visit instead."

            Yes, I hear North Korea is lovely at this time of year!

            Although apparently their leader recently misunderstood the many references to a "big brother dictatorship" - and his claims of there is no big brother here only relate to a morgue in Malaysia...

    2. Pen-y-gors

      Re: The key word is 'Ever'

      Oooh...when I was a wee commentardlet I lived in what is now Yemen for a couple of years. Admittedly it was a British Colony at the time, and I was there 'cos my dad was in the RAF, and it was half a century ago, but does that ban me from the USA? (Not that I have any plans to go)

      1. creepy gecko
        Black Helicopters

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        "I lived in what is now Yemen for a couple of years."

        Have a look out of your window. Can you seen an unmarked van with no windows parked about 100 metres away?

        /TinFoilHatMode

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        "Yemen ... I was there 'cos my dad was in the RAF, and it was half a century ago"

        Quite a few of my college friends lived in now-dodgy places, courtesy of dads in the RAF.

        Could be a bugger now that they're close to retirement age and will have the time to do a bit of travelling.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The key word is 'Ever'

          "Quite a few of my college friends lived in now-dodgy places, courtesy of dads in the RAF."

          well, my younger son is a US citizen courtesy of his dad working in silicon valley for 3 years!

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        when I was a wee commentardlet I lived in what is now Yemen

        Never mind Yemen, I'd imagine that Bradford and Tower Hamlets could be considered as being under Islamic State rule.

        1. Rich 11

          Re: The key word is 'Ever'

          I'd imagine that Bradford and Tower Hamlets could be considered as being under Islamic State rule.

          Fuck off back to holding Donald's tiny hand, Nigel.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Stop spreading Lies

          Never mind Yemen, I'd imagine that Bradford and Tower Hamlets could be considered as being under Islamic State rule.

          Fuck off.

          Bradford Demography

          At the 2011 UK census, Bradford had a population of 522,452.

          The census showed that of Bradford's total population, 67.44% (352,317) was White, 26.83% (140,149) Asian, 2.48% (12,979) Mixed Race, 1.77% (9,267) Black and 1.48% (7,740) from other races.

          [ex-Bradford resident, who got heartily sick of ill-informed Southerners saying "But you're not black". After you'd heard it a thousand times it wasn't the least bit amusing.]

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Stop spreading Lies

            I think Bradford should impose travel restrictions against anyone who had lived under Lancastrian rule

          2. TheVogon

            Re: Stop spreading Lies

            An alternative view of Bradford can be found here:

            https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/21/bradford-islam-white-flight-segregation

            and here:

            http://www.ilivehere.co.uk/bradford-where-do-i-start.html/comment-page-4

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The key word is 'Ever'

          As someone who has lived in both Bradford and Tower Hamlets, I can say quite categorically you're nothing but a lying racist cunt who likes to stir up trouble.

          I suggest you fuck off back to Fox News where you belong peddling your fantasies.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        @Pen-y-gors

        I and my siblings are Army brats born in a certain Middle Eastern country due to my Dad being posted there until we left for NZ 60 years ago.

        My brother told me practically every time he went through the US after 2001, he would be hauled into the windowless brick walled room and grilled about any possible contacts from the government of the country of our birth even after all these years.

    3. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge

      Re: The key word is 'Ever'

      Quote :As usual, the US goes for total overkill and a lot of totally innocent people will be caught up in their search for these mythical 'terrorists under every bed' who are trying to get into the USA when most terrorist acts in the US are carried out by 1) people born there or 2) Legally there already.

      3) white

      4) christian

      1. Kiwi
        WTF?

        Re: The key word is 'Ever'

        most terrorist acts in the US are carried out by

        4) christian

        There are many people who call themselves "Christian" but who are so very far from the ideals that Jesus taught. One just has to look at much of "Right Wing" politics who are often call "the Christian right" and who claim to follow Christian values, and yet are a long long way from it.

        Helping people (especially widows, orphans, people in prison (yes Christians, you're supposed to visit and help people convicted of crimes, not bay for harsher punishments for them!), showing love, compassion and mercy, helping the poor (real help at that), feeding hungry people and so on, and keeping your nose out of other people's business - these are the things Christians should do. Why do so many who claim the name of our Lord do so much opposite to what He taught?

        1. wayward4now
          Big Brother

          Re: The key word is 'Ever'

          Amen. Too few people realize that Christianity was militarized in 300AD by the Roman emperor, to win battles. From then on, Christianity is nothing like what Jesus preached. If it was, the Holy Roman Church would give back all the shit they stole.

  5. Peter Clarke 1
    Alert

    Does It Go Far Enough??

    Logically, this does not go far enough. Direct entry to IS controlled areas is difficult and lot go from a porous border of a neighbouring country. Surely they should be included as well?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Trollface

      Re: Surely they should be included as well?

      Yeah... but since Trump has hotels there it would hurt his business... so no....

  6. Not also known as SC
    Alert

    Awful Job?

    Who would want to, or even be able to, trawl through one other person's social media account yet alone hundreds or thousands of them? From what I understand most people's accounts are full of tedious motivational posts, pictures of food and animals (kittens are okay I suppose), and the occasional "Got bad news today..." fishing line designed to attract comments, replies and likes. The sheer volume of crap would drive any checker insane to the point that they'd probably only give each a cursory glance defeating the point of the check in the first place.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Awful Job?

      "pictures of food and animals (kittens are okay I suppose)"

      Yeah, I like kittens too, but I couldn't eat a whole one.

  7. Roger B

    The checking is done at each over seas consulate, by either locals; what if they lie? and let their brown skinned friends in? Or, if each consulate employs US staff, which good for the job numbers, although how many Americans actually want to leave the safety that Donald provides..some US citizens could work in one of these scary countries, what if they get turned?

    My social media/forum accounts are not even in my name, but if you want to read this Donald;

    FU

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I have never seen anything so mind bogglingly stupid in my entire life as what is going on right now and the stupidity can be summed up in two questions.

    Do they honestly believe that someone with intent of committing these acts is going to post negative things to an American social media platform and then try and enter the country?

    Do they honestly believe that someone with a passport that is on a watch/banned list of countries isn't going to obtain a fake passport so they can enter the country?

    So what's really going on here? The only thing I can think of is it's a media campaign to demonise citizens of certain countries or their religion. If anyone else can come up with a plausible explanation then I'm all ears.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Do they honestly believe that someone with intent of committing these acts is going to post negative things to an American social media platform and then try and enter the country?

      Seems that at least for the people doing "Hits in Europe", this is the actual case.

      The only thing I can think of is it's a media campaign to demonise citizens of certain countries or their religion.

      Don't know whether you have just arrived from Alpha Centauri, but there is no such "media campaign" going on (except for relatively staid Iran), indeed Saudi Arabia is getting free passes all the time.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Saudi Arabia is getting free passes all the time.

        That's because it's a decent law abiding state with good democratic values, respect for women and minority religions, and hasn't been a source of either infamous terrorists or funding for IS.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Saudi Arabia is getting free passes all the time.

          And coincidentally it has shitoads of oil, buys shitloads of US weapons, holds shitloads of US treasury debt and totally coincidentally funds anti-Iranian terrorist groups

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Saudi Arabia is getting free passes all the time.

          @Ledswinger

          Don't forget that the Orange One has business interests there too.

  9. TrumpSlurp the Troll
    WTF?

    Now under IS control?

    Someone care to post a list of these countries?

    I thought they were controlling a few cities and land in between.

    1. Geoff Johnson

      Re: Now under IS control?

      Looking at this story, I'd say the USA is pretty much controlled by IS.

  10. scrubber
    FAIL

    But I can't...

    I would love to give you access to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, but the passwords and bookmarks are on my laptop which you made me leave behind in Iraq!

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: But I can't...

      Surely Iraq can't be on the list ?

      It went directly from being controlled by a weapons of mass destruction owning dictator to being a free democratic ally of American under the wise and benevolent rule of it's democratically elected president .

      And Syria is controlled by the great friend of our friend President Putin.

  11. Oh Homer
    Flame

    Does that include...

    British Squadies who went to Iraq?

    Or non-US civilian contractors who were subcontracted to KBR et al?

    Or journalists, news photographers, aid workers, and many other perfectly legitimate non-combatants?

    Trump seems to be cracking nuts with a sledgehammer.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Does that include...

      They did stop the ex-prime minister of Norway because he had vsited Iraq

      You can't be too careful, he ma have been radicalised over the Ferro-Rocher

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: Does that include...

        Frankly, yes. It's what Israel does all the time.

        Always carry a few passports if you travel a lot.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Does that include...

          "Always carry a few passports if you travel a lot."

          And the US border/consulate/TSA etc won't find that suspicious?

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

            Re: Does that include...

            "Always carry a few passports if you travel a lot."

            And the US border/consulate/TSA etc won't find that suspicious?

            Nope (well, they didn't used to anyway). My Dad used to have two passports (one that he visited Israel/US with and one that he used to go to Arab countries & the USSR[1]..

            And the Home Office (at the time) were happy with it.

            [1] Yes - I know - that does date things a bit.

            1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

              Re: Does that include...

              Used to be perfectly normal. You had to post your passport off for a visa for most countries, which in the pre-internet days, often took a couple of weeks to process. So if you were travelling a lot on business, especially in the ME/Africa you had to have several UK passports just because most of them were in the post at any given moment.

              Apart from having to keep separate Israel/South Africa/Communist country ones.

      2. Michael Strorm Silver badge

        Re: Does that include...

        "You can't be too careful, he ma have been radicalised over the Ferro-Rocher"

        Did you know that each Ferro-Rocher contains 110% of your RDA of iron?

    2. Rattus Rattus

      Re: cracking nuts with a sledgehammer

      Of course! I was wondering who he reminded me of. He's like a brightly coloured Stanley the Plaid!

  12. Adrian 4

    Has Mr Trump never visited any of those countries ?

    1. Rich 11

      Visited them? He can't even pronounce them.

  13. Blank Reg

    If you are entitled to passports from multiple countries then go ahead and get them, it can save you some hassles. And when traveling to the middle east, ask them not to stamp your passport, they can staple in a new page for the stamp that you can then remove after you leave the country.

  14. davenewman

    So you hand over your username and password, the US officials use them to post a picture of a brown person in the Northern Irish national dress (named after a place in Crimea), then they arrest you.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      The US, where contract law is king, and the T&C forbids handing over your login details.

  15. Trollslayer
    Facepalm

    Aren't embassies under the State Department?

    You know, the department that is pretty much being shut down.

  16. Zebo-the-Fat

    No!

    As I don't use either Facebog or Twatter I won't be allowed into the US, not that I would want to go while the orange muppet is in control.

  17. GrapeBunch

    Dope-a-mean

    He's flooding our stupidity receptors. Many other measures, such as defunding science, will have more serious and long-term effects.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    why anyone would want to visit the US is beyond me...

    the quicker other countries start banning US citizens from entering the better!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Sadly there are a lot of places that are easier/cheaper to get to by flying through the US.

      Getting to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman, etc is generally a couple of hundred dollars cheaper flying through New York or Miami than going direct with BA, not to mention huge chunks of Latin America are only accessible stopping off in Miami.

      And do the border Nazis care if you're just passing through or actually wanting to visit the "Land of the Free but only if you're a rich white man"? Do they bollocks!

  19. Oengus

    Jobs

    This sort of initiative is how "The Donald" is going to keep his promise about increasing jobs at home... Because examination of Social Media accounts by program is fraught with issues he will employ masses of extra DHS staff to manually go through these social media accounts.

    Another election promise kept...

  20. TrumpSlurp the Troll
    Trollface

    Tony B Liar?

    He's been to a few dodgy places.

    I'm sure The Donald would like to be able to post from his account.

  21. Bernard M. Orwell
    WTF?

    Terr'ists

    Is there a single, verifiable incident of an actual ISIS operative, or cell, entering either the UK or the US using verifiable identification, whilst carrying explosives in their shoes or a 100ml bottle of water, carrying their plans on an encrypted laptop and communicating with each other, and their international masters, using facebook messenger, twitter or WhatsApp?

    No? Has there even been an internal incident in either of those countries matching that criteria?

    No? Not anytime since 2001? You mean, there have been zero verifiable incidents in the US and the incidents in the UK were all internal, lone-wolf homegrown, copycat nut-cases, radicalised by others whilst in the country?

    Explain to me again why the guv attention is on encryption, the internet, border control, body scanners in airports, communicatons interception, silly security theatre rules, more surveillance of the public, armed police.....etc. etc. etc.

    Then, when you're done explaining that to me, tell me how all of that failed to stop a bloke with a knife.

    Security services and government.

    Full. Of. Shit.

  22. Paul Woodhouse

    Its a cunning plan to make the actually organised and competent terrorists complacent thinking that their opponents are total and utter morons, and thus relaxing their guard a little...

    1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge

      Yes

      Yes you are quite correct they are morons, but terrorists are even worse and would think it was a cunning plan to make them drop their guard a little...

      1. Paul Woodhouse

        Re: Yes

        I didn't say it was a good plan....

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