Starting this week, the federal government began asking some travelers to the U.S. to supply details about their social media accounts. As you can see below, Uncle Sam now wants visitors to disclose their presence on popular services like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in what appears to be a long shot attempt to screen for terrorists.
The collection of social media data, which was first proposed by Homeland Security this summer, does not apply to U.S. citizens. Instead, it is for now aimed at foreigners from 32 countries who apply to arrive in the U.S. under the "visa waiver program"—an online tool that lets short-term visitors skip the formal process of applying for a visa.
Here is a screenshot from the online application that shows a list of social networks in the drop-down menu:
