back to article US visitors must hand over Twitter, Facebook handles by law – newbie Rep starts ball rolling

A newbie congressman has floated his first ever US law bill – one that demands visitors to America hand over URLs to their social network accounts. House Rep Jim Banks (R-IN) says his proposed rules – dubbed the Visa Investigation and Social Media Act (VISA) of 2017 – require visa applicants to provide their social media …

  1. Tony S

    Huh?

    Before you go, create brand new, fake accounts, posting comments about your undying love for the USA, and everything American.

    Then give the border guards those details.

    Sounds like Mark Zuckerberg has come up with a way to boost the number of accounts being created.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Huh?

      "create brand new, fake accounts"

      yep. that's the weakness of doing these *kinds* of things. And "the bad guys" would have been doing that already.

      What I think Customs and Border Patrol will be looking for, however, is your REACTION to the question. You'd have to be a convincing liar to get past them.

      1. IglooDude

        Re: Huh?

        "What I think Customs and Border Patrol will be looking for, however, is your REACTION to the question. You'd have to be a convincing liar to get past them."

        And if you're a bona fide American, your reaction to the question will be "Zark off, you gestapo-wannabe".

    2. streaky

      Re: Huh?

      Before you go, create brand new, fake accounts, posting comments about your undying love for the USA, and everything American.

      What mean is "I don't have any".

      Now what? Smart bunch these republicans.

      1. Tom 38

        Re: Huh?

        What mean is "I don't have any".

        Now what?

        The problem is never ever ever lie to them. Once they catch you in a lie, things get exponentially worse. So you can say you don't have any if you don't have any, but if you have one and say that you don't....

      2. phuzz Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Huh?

        "What mean is "I don't have any".

        Now what? Smart bunch these republicans."

        Now they say:

        "I'm sorry sir/madam but you are not allowed into the US. By the way, you'll have to pay for your own flight home."

        And then you have to explain to the kids why they don't get to go to Disneyland.

        1. streaky

          Re: Huh?

          "I'm sorry sir/madam but you are not allowed into the US. By the way, you'll have to pay for your own flight home."

          And then you have to explain to the kids why they don't get to go to Disneyland.

          That's a nice tourist industry you have there, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to it.

          All because they didn't get to see me calling out Mark Clattenburg for being a shit ref or Facebook for not enabling U2f unless you tie a phone to your account. No doubt I'm some sort of threat to the republic.

          They're welcome to go search but I won't be telling them.

        2. MCG

          Re: Huh?

          I don't think even Republicans would make possession of a Facebook account mandatory for US visitors :D

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I don't have any

        I don't have any social media accounts, unless the ability to comment on ElReg qualifies.

        The bright spot is that any blockhead can propose any blockheaded legislation he pleases, and they do. Good Lord, they do.

        But most of those proposal die an ignominious and obscure death, as will this one. We hope.

    3. fajensen
      Coat

      Re: Huh?

      Why go to the USA at all? That place is getting nuttier and more random for every year that passes.

      Passing the border of the DDR during the peak of the cold war was a much more relaxed undertaking than meeting the USA security circus in 2015. With the DDR goons, one didn't have this feeling of "These people are *on* something. Reach for your handkerchief too quickly, drop an iPad with a loud noise, and thousands of rounds will instantly go off in ones general location clipping all the bystanders."

      1. druck Silver badge
        Stop

        Re: Huh?

        Why go to the USA at all? That place is getting nuttier and more random for every year that passes.

        Hell, I stopped going when they started finger printing people at the border. There are plenty of places to go that don't treat people like criminals being booked in to the cells.

    4. Just Enough

      Re: Huh?

      No need to create new accounts, just sprinkle your existing one with comments about your admiration for the anti-terrorist efforts by the leader of the free world.

      After all, we all know Americans don't understand sarcasm.

      1. Buzzword

        Re: Huh?

        Be careful, don't just write down "I don't have one". There are plenty of live accounts like:

        https://twitter.com/no

        https://twitter.com/notapplicable

        https://twitter.com/idonthaveone

        1. Paul Smith

          Re: Huh?

          All three are valid and may not be what you want to submit to the TSA.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Glad the translation will be supplied by me

    Allahu akbar? Oh that just means "y'all have a nice day now"

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

      Allahu akbar? Oh that just means "y'all have a nice day now"

      I've had this really bad joke running around my head for a while.

      "Aloha ak-bar, aloha akbar, it's time... to say... buh-byeeee! *BOOM*"

      OK, that was bad. really bad. heh.

      (is there an icon for *BAD JOKE ALERT* ???)

      1. billium
        Big Brother

        Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

        @bombasticbob

        You have got to be on the watch list. Bomb in your name, allah's snack bar and boom in your comments!

      2. Kiwi

        Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

        (is there an icon for *BAD JOKE ALERT* ???)

        From the looks of your post, I'd say it's that little down-arrow with the number next to it :) (and no, I'm not one of the dv'ers :) )

    2. JDC

      Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

      Actually, you're not far off. In Egypt you could certainly use it to mean "nice one", as in: "Just got a new job!" "Nice one! Allahu Akbar!" Nothing particularly sinister about that.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

        Agree. No different to

        "I got the job! Thank God!"

        But stupid people don't know that.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

        it pretty much means "praise $deity" in a lot of contexts and is as harmless as "thank god I got to the station on time and caught my train". the media (and the xenophobes) have done a good job of taking it and making it into a trigger.

        As a non-denominational Minister I actually use it on occasion - which must look weird as I'm a 115kgs, 1.85m tall, bearded, bald headed, tattooed white guy who usually rocks up to ceremonies on a Harley. This weekend I'm officiating an interfaith, same-sex (Sikh and Christian) service ... been an interesting experience working with these two to come up with the service and learning to pronounce some of the Sikh passages correctly!

        The idea of devices being scanned is a little worrying for me as I have a number of religious texts on my iPad that I use for reference and while I hope my Ministerial credentials would at least cut me some slack the paranoid IT side of me that's my day job means that all that stuff lives in the cloud and I just disconnect from that before crossing the US border (have been doing that for some years now as I worked a lot in China for a while). My Facebook and Twitter however does include some anti-Idiocracy sentiment which may upset Trump supporters, so Anonymous it must be!

    3. fajensen

      Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

      It means a lot of things apart from "some atrocity is imminent". It can also be used in much the same way "we" use "fuck" - As a generic expletive meaning both good or bad things.

      For example, when a westernized muslim drops her iPhone on the cement, she might say "Allahu akbar" with a "down"/"ironic" tone on the "akbar" bit.

    4. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Big Brother

      Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

      Allahu akbar? Oh that just means "y'all have a nice day now"

      Pretty much does. It is as casually used as "Howdy" and "G'day". It is simply that the public have been brainwashed into believing it is indicative of something far more sinister.

      It has been such effective propaganda that false media reports these days of someone shouting "Allahu akbar" is enough to have most people blaming Muslims for whatever happened. Even when it turns out to be a Le Pen loving white extremist murdering Muslims in Quebec.

  3. cd

    This could turn into a nice side business for someone.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My username is...

    'Anonymous Coward'

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: My username is...

      Mr Coward, you clearly suffer from multiple personality disorder. Although some of your personalities have expressed their undying love for our president, others have called him a pussy grabbing loon and far worse. Your disparaging comments on the Department of Homeland Security were not welcome. Until it time for you to return home, will be staying at a Trump prison, which serves only the best luxury water at $5000 per glass. Now please hand over your online banking credentials my colleague, who will take out a loan in your name so you will be able to pay your bill promptly on your departure.

      Please enjoy your stay in the US and return to us as soon as you can afford it.

      1. Baldy50

        Re: My username is...

        Mooching around again and found this, sorry.

        http://www.snopes.com/obama-deported-more-people/

        Not sorry BTW love winding up well, you know who you are.

        1. MCG

          Re: My username is...

          Nice one. We all suspected the Republicans were soft on terrorism.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: My username is...

      Do they really think anyone's whose FB identity is "AchmedTheTerrorist" and posts anti-America propaganda will admit to that?

      As has been suggested, they'll just create a fake id full of fluffy kitten pictures.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: My username is...

        , they'll just create a fake id full of fluffy kitten pictures.

        Thats what "They" want us to do, because then there is evidence of Deception. In my opinion, is downright retarded to believe that "They" do not already have full and complete records on-demand of every digital thing we touched in the past. Wonder why one must register first with these guys https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta and pay with a personal credit card?

        Once cheating is detected, then they can really put the screws on the idiot who tried this, not just the normal messing about with "civil asset forfeiture" and other stuff, that one would maybe expect in say Russia or Angola. One could become the next Boston Bomber.

    3. mics39
      Facepalm

      Re: My username is...

      No, no, no, Mr Border Patrol Officer Bubba, I am the Microsoft employed Anonymous Coward in charge of monitoring foreign owned tech publications, not the Communist Anonymous Coward inciting the use of anarchist open source! Please let me back in! Please check with my boss in Seattle!

      What? No, no, no, I have nothing to do with our data centre in Ireland!

  5. joed

    Why are they asking for FB handles - aren't these real names? I bet that privacy of these who have nothing to hide will be the only one compromised.

    1. hplasm
      Happy

      Facebook Handle-

      Allah's Snackbar. Best Hummus in the Middle East.

      See how far that gets you...

      1. Roj Blake Silver badge

        Re: Facebook Handle-

        I'm waiting for Al's Kebabs to be confused with Islamist group Al-Shabaab, or for the lead singer of Procul Harum to be mistaken for for the leader of Boko Haram.

  6. Mark 85

    So reality check?

    How many of us have "fake" accounts or multiple accounts depending on the site? How many of us would acknowledge that we have social media accounts? And lastly, how many have a full-blown, comprehensive, truthful, social media account?

    I think the Congressman has been out playing with the unicons again.

    1. Michael Thibault

      Re: So reality check?

      And what hell is unleashed upon those who answer, truthfully, that they have neither a Twitter, Facebook, nor any other social mediocrity account?

      Legislation is not magic, and legislators are not wizards, though they may be wishfully so.

      1. coldr3x

        Re: So reality check?

        Why go that far? HR in any large company already doing social media screening for all candidates, so if you don't have a SM account you must be a fraud.

        1. Number6

          Re: So reality check?

          While I'd tell HR what my Facebook account is (given that they could find it themselves if they were half-way competent), I wouldn't give them a password or other access to it so they'd be stuck with the public posts. If they insist on more access then clearly it's not the sort of place I'd want to work and I'd tell them that as I got up to walk out.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So reality check?

      Personally I'd tell them I don't have a facebook account. I use a fake name on facebook, good luck with them associating it with me. I only use facebook for a few special interest groups and have no desire to share my life history with the world at large. However, there are lots of people with the same real name as me on facebook, so I'd probably be guilty of something by name association.

      1. Aladdin Sane

        Re: So reality check?

        I don't even have an account here.

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: So reality check?

          I don't even have an account here.

          (Attempts to parse, disppears in a puff of anti-logic)

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: So reality check?

            Had this come up in an interview for a security job (at a bank no less).

            He couldn't understand the concept of not having a social media account. The penny only dropped when I told him the I frequently have in my possession documents that could be used to compromise the company I'm working for and that announcing what I did to the world+dog, who I'm doing it for at the moment, and just when I'm on holiday so you can come round and nick my laptop etc. would be a *really bad* idea.

            Seriously, he was gobsmacked and had never even thought about it before.

            Don't you just love it when total morons have any kind of say in your life :)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is what you get...

    ... When people not hindered by any factual knowledge get to propose new laws. Many man hours (and therefor money!) is spend over something which will only affect the illiterate and won't reveal those who who have a little more brain capacity than a peanut. Which I think this guy has.

    1. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Black Helicopters

      Re: This is what you get...

      It is as much about power, control and compliance as it is about information gathering. You are either with us or against us, and if you can't demonstrate you are with us ...

      The very fact people here are talking about lying, hiding accounts, using false names, complaining, indicates they know they aren't the people America wants. They know they aren't compliant, don't belong. It's working as intended.

      Are you with us or against us?

      1. Sir Runcible Spoon
        Coat

        Re: This is what you get...

        "Are you with us or against us?"

        Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

          Absolutely. What's a SIth?

          1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge
            Happy

            Re: Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

            That big guy dressed in black holding a light saber just behind you, not a border guard as they haven't been issued with their light sabers as yet.

  8. P. Lee
    Black Helicopters

    >This is what you get...

    when your party machine wants to keep the media occupied with something inconsequential.

  9. Pomgolian
    WTF?

    The Wall

    It seems to me that rather than build a physical wall, ostensibly to keep people out, they are doing everything they bloody well can to build a virtual one. I've always regarded America as a fscked up place full of nutjobs, but it's clear now that the loonies really are running the asylum. This bill may fall, but you can bet your ass/arse that just like the No.4, there will be another one along in a minute.

    1. fajensen
      Coat

      Re: The Wall

      ... they are doing everything they bloody well can to build a virtual one.

      Not only "they", it's "us" too. What do you think the real purpose behind the push for replacing analogue cash with clever digital money is?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The Wall

      Meanwhile in the Home Office, a mandarin's eyes have just popped open and he's started to smile...

      1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge

        Re: The Wall

        To keep out the welsh/scots? or English?

    3. Toni the terrible Bronze badge
      Angel

      Re: The Wall

      Really, there are very many nice people in the USA, just not in positions of apparent authority / power.

  10. Number6

    Unless the congressman is smart enough to specify US English, you could probably convince a judge that 'English' is by default what's found in the UK with the extra Us and a deficit of Z.

    You'd need more than one DHS person at each embassy - there is already a visa interview for each applicant, so having to add an extra person would double the staff required to handle that part of visas. I guess they might have less background paperwork than the regular staff.

    I look forward to all other countries requiring US visitors to disclose their social media passwords - that might have more effect than complaining - it was funny to hear US citizens complaining when Brazil decided it was going to fingerprint them on entry.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sooooo

    Foreign Facebook and Twitter users to be closely vetted BUT rampant domestic gun violence is protected in law.

    The US is now crazy-cuckoo-land.

    1. Rattus Rattus

      Re: Sooooo

      "The US is now crazy-cuckoo-land"

      Now? It has been for a long, long time.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sooooo

        "Now? It has been for a long, long time."

        Yes, realised my mistake too late....

      2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Sooooo

        Now? It has been for a long, long time.

        After all, they decided to leave the loving emrace of the mother-country..

    2. seriestruck

      Re: Sooooo

      <rampant domestic gun violence is protected in law.>

      Not quite - 2nd Amendment does not support the illegal use of firearms I believe

      1. EnviableOne

        Re: Sooooo

        The second amendment's intent was to Allow the states to form a militia to overthrow a tyrannical government and for their members to have the right to hold weapons.

        The idiots since have corrupted this intent to allow John Do to carry automatic machine guns

        1. Aladdin Sane

          Re: Sooooo

          That damn comma.

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          carry automatic machine guns

          BS. Automatic weapons are not legal anywhere in the country that I'm aware of.

          1. Mark 85

            Re: carry automatic machine guns

            Actually, you can legally own a machine gun. It does require a thorough background check and a hefty license fee. There's a place in Arizona (Big Sandy...Google and Youtube it) where people come in from all over the US to play with their toys. Not just machineguns but tanks, and artillery.

    3. Chemical Bob
      Devil

      Re: The US is now crazy-cuckoo-land.

      No, it's a *very* exclusive gun club.

  12. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    But

    I don't have any social media accounts!

    None.

    How do I prove a negative?

    1. luminous

      Re: But

      It involves a soundproof room with no windows, padded walls, rubber globes, lube, a wooden stool and pain....

      I don't have any either... but it's impossible to prove otherwise.

      1. Kane

        Re: But

        "It involves a soundproof room with no windows, padded walls, rubber globes, lube, a wooden stool and pain...."

        Aww, that's sweet - you think they'd use lube?

      2. storner
        Boffin

        Re: But

        No lube, makes the "pain" part easier.

      3. nematoad

        Re: But

        "It involves a soundproof room with no windows, padded walls, rubber globes, lube, a wooden stool and pain...."

        Balls.

        1. Aladdin Sane

          Re: But

          Known in the UK as a fun weekend.

    2. Quinch
      Devil

      Re: But

      Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, remember?

    3. Tromos
      Joke

      Re: But

      I only have antisocial media accounts. This one being a prime example.

    4. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: But

      it's going to be crowded in that room...

      Did the Senator not learn about logic, proofs, and the impossibility thereof in some cases? Perhaps that day it rained and the teacher didn't go to school.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: But

        Did the Senator not learn about logic, proofs, and the impossibility thereof in some cases?

        You've not come across the US education system, then? And this man was such an Einstein that before politics he was in the US Navy Supply Corps.

        Jim Banks:

        He Knows No Fear

        He Knows No Danger

        He Knows Nothing

        1. Kevin Johnston

          Re: But

          So, was he one of those storemen that would not give you the last of an item as then he would have nothing for the next person that needed one? Or was he the type that wouldn't hand it over as then he would have no stock to count?

      2. Chemical Bob

        Re: But

        It ain't about education. A lobotomy is mandatory for any political office above city council.

        1. Aladdin Sane

          Re: But

          Ask Joe Kennedy

    5. cantankerous swineherd

      Re: But

      you'll have some social media accounts by the time they've finished with you.

    6. Nick Kew

      Re: But

      I don't have any social media accounts!

      Neither do I.

      I have something altogether more sinister, that probably marks me out as dodgy and undesirable. That is, an ethical problem with the Enclosure of the Commons represented by the likes of Facebook.

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But - I don't have any social media accounts!

      What do you think this is?

      Oh, I pity the poor, semi-literate US official who has to trawl through the posting history of any active Reg commentard, especially mine. For one thing, they'll need a dictionary. But at the end of the process (if it's someone else) they might have educated themselves into an IT job. After trawling through mine it'll be Xanax.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Whenever I travel to the US...

    I simply explain the the chap or filly behind the desk that I am one of Her Gracious Majesty's loyal subjects and that I expect, nay demand, swift ingress into the colonies whensoever I deign to visit.

    On my last visit, one of them even demanded to see inside my luggage: "my good man," I told him loudly and forcefully, his comprehension and intellect clearly lacking, "I'm not having your rough workman's hands ruining my Savile Row cloth and my Lobbs. Step aside, let's have no more of your grubby nonsense. If I let you into my luggage, you'll be wanting the vote next, and we certainly can't have that".

    As far as social media is concerned, surely even their libraries have a ready copy of Debrett's to hand.

  14. Jos V

    Sod facebook

    As if timing it, i received a mail from facebook today (legit email source too) saying someone had been trying to my account.

    I closed my account in 2009 after tinkering with it for a couple of weeks, but only did a deactivate action in the settings and forgot about the whole thing.

    My hosts file directs all facebook links to 127.0.0.1, and I don't have the app, was a bit surprised.

    So, I checked it out, and it turns out my account came back from life as was in 2009. The cheeky bastards. I heard about this, but you'd think that after 8 years it would have been cleared...

    Anyways, if you really want to get rid of the bloody thing, they promise they will remove all your data and your account when going here, after no further login for 2 weeks:

    https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account

    Just need to log in one last time.

    Now, as for the US asking for my account details though... We'll just see.

  15. David Roberts

    Social Media?

    Possibly slightly more that Facebook and Twitter, Shirley?

    If you do most of your on line posting on web fora and Usenet then there might be a very long list.

    I do have a Twitter account but I think my only tweet was "O.K. What happens now?". There was no reply.

    I may have a Google+ account as well. Don't you get one with a Gmail address? Hmmm....list of all my Gmail addresses and passwords?

    They won't bother to check the accounts. This is just a form of gratuitous electronic rape to let you know that you are sub-human trash with zero rights.

    1. Measurer

      Re: Social Media?

      I'd love to upvote you, but will that count against me?

      Oh sh.......!

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    2FA

    Set up 2 factor auth on your social media (where it's supported) and leave the 2nd device at home

    Job done.

    1. CAPS LOCK

      "and leave the 2nd device at home" - or simpler still...

      ...just don't go. That's how I'm handling things.

  17. DavCrav

    "Banks did not say how his bill would prevent hopefuls from deleting or simply not listing any accounts that may be unfavorable. This bill is Banks' very first attempt at crafting legislation, as the congressman was eager to point out."

    Rough translation: "I've never made a law before, so it's completely shit, but let's hope my laws don't get passed until I know what I'm doing."

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      "I've never made a law before, so it's completely shit, but let's hope my laws don't get passed until I know what I'm doing."

      Nevertheless he's ensured his bill not only has a cute acronym but that it's recursive. Surely that's 90% of the way there.

  18. creepy gecko

    What is social media?

    Does El Reg count?

    1. Kevin Johnston

      Re: What is social media?

      No, El Reg is too big as it is the little things that count

      Yeah, I'm gone now

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: What is social media?

      "Does El Reg count?"

      No, we're all anti-social here.

      1. Swiss Anton

        Re: What is social media?

        Does usenet count, I posted some stuff there in the 80's. In 1976 I stayed at the Seaview Guest House, Warmington-by-Sea and left a comment in their visitor book. Will US immigration want to see that as well?

        1. Whiskers

          Re: What is social media?

          Does usenet count? This could be just the boost usenet needs. Or doesn't. Likewise IRC.

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

            Re: What is social media?

            This could be just the boost usenet needs.

            Please don't. Usenet is finally useful again - all the morons have finally left for Facebook/twitter/instagram etc etc.

            Now all that's left are the intelligensia[1].

            [1] I use that word in it's loosest possible sense.

            1. Aladdin Sane
              Headmaster

              "It's"

              Still not loose enough to include people who abuse the common apostrophe.

              1. Swarthy
                Thumb Up

                Re: "It's"

                At least he didn't use the word in its losest possible sense.

                If he had, I might have loosed my mind.

                1. Aladdin Sane

                  Re: "It's"

                  *TWITCH*

        2. Swiss Anton
          Headmaster

          Re: What is social media?

          There is no such place as Warmington-by-Sea, I meant Walmington-on-Sea

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder if Congress realises

    that America has a tourist industry?

    Getting in to Trumpistan is already a deeply unpleasant experience due to a combination of inadequate border staff and what staff they do have apparently graduating summa cum laude from the Rosa Klebb Charm School.

    And they want to make it worse still.

  20. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    I have a Hotmail A/C which is mostly used for people I expect to be spammers (hello Tickemaster) or in situations where it's likely to be harvested. It frequently gets a few emails sending me "invoices". My son may have to go the the US later this year. I may let him have the password for it and hope they try to download and open a few of those nasties. I'd just have to move them from Junk to Inbox...

  21. j.bourne
    Facepalm

    Terrorists no-longer have any need to enter the USA - they have already succeeded in terrifying their target. The US authorities are now so paranoid that they are now prepared to curtail American freedom.

    1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge
      Alien

      Terror at the border

      And this is the point of terror - it makes its victim (the USA) into the enemy of its own citizens and allies citizens - as that is easier for the victim state than really dealing with actual enemys.

      Mind you it is said here and there that even Napoleon preferreed to make war on his allies, so much easier.

  22. Big Al

    I have no objection to handing over the URLs of my website, FB account (set to have nothing public anyway), my Instagram account (pretty pictures!) or my LinkedIn profile (yawn)... because all of these are on my business card anyway.

    Now being asked to hand over the PASSWORDS to these accounts would be something different again...

  23. Terry 6 Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Overseas

    An awful lot of Americans still think the next state along is a bit too close to the edge of the world for safety. An awful lot of them seem to believe that vaccinations give you Autism. And that the dinosaurs lived alongside humans, since the Universe is only 6000 years old.

    So a measure that keeps non-Americans out as a matter of principle may well go down very well with the supporters of Donaldskai Trumpski.

    (As to translation, just put the word "awesome" in at random intervals and you'll be fine)

  24. Stratman

    Really silly question

    What is the phone in the picture please?

    It looks the right size and has non-pointy corners to catch in my pocket

  25. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Refer the border guards to the passport:

    "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

  26. mhenriday
    Pint

    Land of the brave,

    home of the free....

    Henri

    1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge

      Re: Land of the brave,

      Well I admit, you have to be Brave to live in the USA but free....

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