Latest news with #onlineactivity
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Irish Times
Travelling to the US and need to detox your phone? Here's how
Enter your name into any search engine and you'll quickly find dozens of results. In the online era, our social media handles, place of work, even family members and addresses can easily be uncovered within a couple of clicks. A few minutes of digging and the jigsaw puzzle of your life is pieced together and laid bare for all to see. Digital footprints have become a bigger-than-ever talking point for those looking to visit the US. Recent developments allow for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to carry out searches of mobile phones at checkpoints. It was announced today that students will be asked to unlock social media profiles to allow officials to review their online activity before being granted educational and exchange visas. Failing to do so means being suspected of hiding activity from US officials. Among the reasons for checks being carried out are 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States'. Online forums are blowing up with questions about how to sanitise devices and digital footprints in advance of visa requests or before entering the country. Here are a few steps you can take to reduce the risk of being turned away. READ MORE Now that you've hopefully taken a few deep breaths, assess your surface-level online presence. Consider deleting any social media posts that raise red flags. A simple principle to go by with your device is 'out of sight out of mind'. Don't underestimate the power of a printed boarding pass, and carrying travel documents with you in paper format. Turn your phone off and stow it away in your bag or pocket before approaching a CBP agent, cross your fingers and hope to fly under the radar. However, it's advisable to be more thorough with your methods. Expert suggestions range from pre-screening and making modifications to your personal smartphone before travelling – including deleting incriminating photos, messages and inessential apps – to investing in a clean travel device. When it comes to modifying your current phone, Apple and Google have recently made it possible to add an extra shield of authentication to apps you may want to hide by placing them in a separate folder. [ Direct flights to Cancún may say more about the US than Mexico Opens in new window ] Android's 'private spaces' can also be turned on in the security and privacy settings menu of your phone, while prolonged pressing of an app on iOS will present the option to place it in a hidden folder. Do with that information what you like. Now it might sound extreme, but privacy and digital rights advocates largely favour building a travel device from scratch. In saying that, it's important to beware that a phone that is too squeaky clean can arouse suspicion, doing more harm than good. [ 'My sister is ill in Ireland, but we are suspending our travel plans': Irish in US voice fear over border arrests Opens in new window ] Starting off with a clean slate is one way to practise 'data minimisation', reducing the data available to another person. Put just what you'll need for a trip on the phone; maybe you want to include alternate social media accounts [ie a 'finsta' – a fake Insta(gram) account where you haven't posted anything that could be deemed controversial] and a separate account for end-to-end encrypted communications using an app like WhatsApp. By building from the ground up, you're able to be selective with what can potentially turn up during a manual search. In cases where CBP deems 'reasonable suspicion' of a crime, it may say a more thorough 'advanced search' could be carried out. This is where a device is connected to external equipment and its contents can be reviewed, copied, or analysed. Digital rights groups like San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation have developed a range of in-depth tool kits dedicated to promoting ' surveillance self-defence '. While it is yet to be seen how hard US border control will be clamping down, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
New US visa rules will force foreign students to unlock social media profiles
Foreign students will be required to unlock their social media profiles to allow officials to review their online activity before receiving educational and exchange visas, the US state department has announced. Those who fail to do so will be suspected of hiding that activity from US officials. The new guidance, unveiled by the state department on Wednesday, directs US diplomats to conduct an online presence review to look for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States'. A cable separately obtained by Politico also instructs diplomats to flag any 'advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to US national security' and 'support for unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence'. READ MORE The screening for 'anti-Semitic' activity matches similar guidance given at US Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Department of Homeland Security and has been criticised as an effort to crack down on opposition to the conduct of Israel's war in Gaza . The new state department checks are directed at students and other applicants for visas in the F, M and J categories, which refer to academic and vocational education, as well as cultural exchanges. 'It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump administration is doing every single day,' said a senior state department official, adding that US secretary of state Marco Rubio was 'helping to make America and its universities safer while bringing the state Department into the 21st century'. The Trump administration paused the issuance of new education visas late last month as it mulled new social media vetting strategies. [ Most Irish J1 students unaffected by US move to halt interviews for visas Opens in new window ] The US had also targeted Chinese students for special scrutiny amid a tense negotiation over tariffs and the supply of rare-earth metals and minerals to the United States. The state department directive allowed diplomatic posts to resume the scheduling of interviews for educational and exchange visas, but added that consular officers would conduct a 'comprehensive and thorough vetting' of all applicants applying for F, M and J visas. 'To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M and J non-immigrant visas will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public'', the official said. 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.' - Guardian
CTV News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Edmonton teen arrested over terrorism concerns
Edmonton Watch Police say a 15-year-old in Edmonton has been arrested because of fear the teen will commit terrorism crimes based on their online activity.
