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United States Social Networks Technology

Biden Administration Continues To Defend Social Media Registration Requirement in Court (knightcolumbia.org) 52

In a terse court filing on Friday, the Biden administration indicated that it would continue to defend a controversial Trump administration rule that requires millions of visa applicants each year to register their social media handles with the U.S. government. From a report: The registration requirement, which stems from the Muslim ban, is the subject of an ongoing First Amendment challenge filed by the Knight Institute, the Brennan Center, and the law firm Simpson Thacher on behalf of two documentary film organizations, Doc Society and the International Documentary Association.
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Biden Administration Continues To Defend Social Media Registration Requirement in Court

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  • by sinij ( 911942 )
    Everyone knows that only terrorists and sociopaths don't have social media accounts. Why do you hate America so much that you would want only terrorists and sociopaths to undocumented noncitizen integrate?
    • Everyone knows that all muslim radicals are either named Mohammed or Achmed, so this type of filter will work very well... sigh...
    • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
      That's Not True!

      Reports are in the news continually showing that terrorist, and other assorted criminals, use Social Media. And that their Social Media usage leads to criminal charges, prosecution, and sentencing.

      Question: Are you someone with education and experience with Sociopaths and Terrorists? Or are you just blowing smoke?

      I ask that question because you left out Psychopaths. While associated with Sociopaths, Psychopaths and Sociopaths are quite different. Their omission indicated a lay p
  • Compromise, bipartisanship infrastructure bill, and leaving some prior Presidential changes in place? WTF is the world coming to!? Centrists will ruin the goddam place!

    • by Anonymous Coward
      Not quite, they just don't want to give up any power they have already acquired.
    • Biden is right wing even among Republicans. Also Berni is a Liberal not a Socialist.
      • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
        I guess you're a Young Person!
        Biden has never been listed as "right wing" since he entered the Senate. His basis, "Let George Do It", i.e., Federal Government controlling all facets of USA life puts him well outside of Republican ranks.

        Bernie Sanders calls himself as Socialist (Democratic Socialist or Socialist Democrat) and proposes that the Federal Government control alll USA Industry and Businesses. His proposed policies are to the left of Joe Biden.

        You're really trying to "move the goal posts" --
    • Re:Damn centralist! (Score:5, Informative)

      by Aighearach ( 97333 ) on Saturday May 29, 2021 @12:47AM (#61433308)

      This isn't about compromise, this is about inaccurate reporting.

      Before Trump changed any of the rules they already asked about social media accounts. I know this, because I filled out one of the applications right after he was elected, but before he was in office.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Who banned Muslims? When?

    Oh, right, the Newspeak troll meant Trump's travel restrictions that denied visas to people from countries that the Obama administration recognized as not providing sufficient background checks.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      98% of the people affected by Trump's ban were muslim. We all know why cos certain polticians talk too fucking much.

      December 8, 2015: On MSNBC:

      Geist: Donald, a customs agent would then ask a person their religion?

      Trump: That would be probablyâ"they would say, "Are you Muslim?"

      Geist: And if they said, "Yes," they would not be allowed in the country?

      Trump: That's correct.

      May 11, 2016: On Fox News:

      I'm looking at it very strongly with Rudy Giuliani heading it. I've spoken to him a little while ago. We're going to put together a group of five or six people. Very, very highly thought of people, and I think Rudy will head it up, and we'll look at the Muslim ban or the 'temporary ban' as we call it . . . He will head it up and he's agreed to do so.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Here you go:

      "A Dozen Times Trump Equated his Travel Ban with a Muslim Ban"
      https://www.cato.org/blog/doze... [cato.org]

  • ...if the thought criminals don't register with them? This new law is doubleplusgood! =)))
  • I honestly see this legislation as another "nothing burger" that people want to get all fired up over, but means little?

    I mean, ok ... so they have to divulge the nickname or handle they prefer using online? A lot of people have used multiple usernames online over the years/decades. What if you just list one of them? What if you give them one you never really said anything under? How much effort is going to go into finding out someone actually used a different name than the one they wrote down?

    Ultimately,

    • If they find that you deliberately left one out, I’d imagine that would cause them to immediately revoke your application.

  • by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt AT nerdflat DOT com> on Friday May 28, 2021 @06:08PM (#61432690) Journal

    ... that people wanting to apply for a visa need to have a social media account?

    If not, what precludes a person who does have one from simply not disclosing the account?

    • ... that people wanting to apply for a visa need to have a social media account?

      If not, what precludes a person who does have one from simply not disclosing the account?

      Oh I'm sorry, were you expecting enforcement?

      Yeah, sorry we only make laws now.

      - Rep. Win Dow-Dresser

    • As with everything else, if they find out later you were lying, you lose your status.

      If you lie on your initial application, then later even if you get citizenship, it can (will be) revoked if they discover you lied on your application.

      You're much better off deleting your accounts before applying, if you don't want to have accounts to disclose.

      And no, of course it doesn't mean you have to have social media accounts. There are lots of things that have to be disclosed on the forms. For example, all groups you

      • by mark-t ( 151149 )

        And how do they prove that you were lying and that it was not an accidental omission?

        If that can be grounds for citizenship revocation, then depending on the circumstances, that might leave a person stateless, which would be a violation of human rights.

        • They hold a hearing, and an administrative judge decides if you were lying. If you lose, you might be able to sue the government in regular Court...

          But there is no such thing as an accidental omission. That phrase merely describes a lie born from carelessness. It is not a matter of intent, it is a matter of the truthfulness of the document submitted.

          Now, if your citizenship specifically can be withdrawn does require the omission to have been substantive; it has to be something that would have prevented your

          • by mark-t ( 151149 )

            Interesting. Thank you for detailing that.

            However,. you omitted the case where a person renounces their prior citizenship upon acquiring US citizenship, and then something happens where they would have otherwise lost their US citizenship. I don't know if the original country is still legally required to reinstate them if they had actually renounced their citizenship upon gaining citizenship in the USA. Again, revoking citizenship could leave someone stateless on account of something that could have eas

            • Few places even have such a thing as "renouncing citizenship."

              You're either a [Nationality] Person, or you're not. If you were born there, and your parents were [Nationality] Persons, you're a [Nationality] Person. It is not something that can be removed.

              Part of the reason for this is related to the fact that few places have "freedom of speech." (Not even Europe has this) It is just a US thing. Everywhere else, there are various things you could say that would be illegal. If you move to a place with more fr

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      If they get caught their visa gets cancelled. Phone inspected at the border.

  • That basic principle of human nature should not be forgotten.

    Immigration to the US is a privilege to be earned. It may be difficult to understand but citizens have an ownership stake in their country not held by outsiders. All practical intel should be collected on outsiders and all Constitutional intel collected domestically.

    The world is a very bad place and humanity evolved to be so savage we only have global peace thanks to Mutual Assured Destruction. Think about that before childish (therefore stupid)

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by profplump ( 309017 )

      I agree. We have to stop handing out inherited citizenship, and stop calling people citizens just for being born here. Infants clearly haven't earned anything, and shouldn't be given citizenship. Everyone should have to earn their citizenship, no matter who their daddy is or where their mother was squatting when they were born.

      You know the whole idea of citizenship is foreign. Maybe we should do away with it altogether.

      • by currently_awake ( 1248758 ) on Friday May 28, 2021 @09:34PM (#61433104)
        You could force people to do 2 years military service to get their citizenship. And have a test on the countries legal system and Constitution.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Not sure if this is some kind of joke, a reference to Starship Troopers perhaps?

          • by mishehu ( 712452 )
            Want to know more?
          • by mjwx ( 966435 )

            Not sure if this is some kind of joke, a reference to Starship Troopers perhaps?

            Sadly no, people genuinely are that stupid.

            Who in their right fucking minds would want to train people who are foreign to your country in how to kill people? I'm nowhere near a xenophobic, anti-immigrant, far-right bitchy blow-hard incel, in fact I'm an immigrant myself (to the UK) but agree there does need to be a process in place to ensure we're not letting in complete whacktards. I don't think giving them guns is conducive to that.

            I'm anti-compulsory service in general because the quality of our armed fo

            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Problem with any kind of mandatory service is that it discriminates against people with disabilities, or even just older people. Or young people, children won't be able to get citizenship.

              Remember that as well as skilled adults there will be their families, refugees, adopted children, students who stay on etc.

              I tend to think that immigrants should be seen as an asset that we should be looking to attract.

    • by arQon ( 447508 ) on Saturday May 29, 2021 @01:25AM (#61433366)

      Given that TFA says "MILLIONS of visa applications per year", this appears to be about TOURIST visas.

      IMMIGRATION visas are already vetted in minute detail, and have been since before "social media" meant Usenet...

    • by The Evil Atheist ( 2484676 ) on Saturday May 29, 2021 @03:53AM (#61433538)

      That basic principle of human nature should not be forgotten.

      Except no, if anything, history shows human nature is very much trustworthy on a large scale. Most people are not psychopaths or sociopaths. Most people aren't murderers or thieves. Most people aren't spies. Most people aren't cheats. Immigration was fine long before social media.

      They haven't caught anyone of note with this mass surveillance social credit system. Those who have been caught doing stuff like sending data back to foreign governments have been doing so with complete social media transparency.

      Yours is the stupid childish idealism that people with the intent to do harm on a nationwide scale would brag about it on their social media handles. Shame on you, and all those who voted you "Insightful".

      • The "no one is trustworthy" philosophy has been debunked e.g. the research of Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment), Sherif (Robbers Cave Experiment) en Milgram (the shock experiments) have all been proven to be hoaxes based on a lot of manipulation. People naturally trend to organize themselves with a lot of solidarity. JJ.Rousseau's view is pretty close to reality as it turns out. It's not a plea for condition-less immigration, but the idea that no one is trustworthy is plainly not true.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    People though Biden would be Obama 2.0 when he was elected.

    It seems to be turning out he is actually Trump 2.0, he is just Democrat's Trump rather than Republican's Trump.

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

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