Why the US Embassy in SA is asking for access to your social media accounts

The United States Embassy in South Africa has urged certain visa applicants to adjust their social media privacy settings.

As part of a global policy shift under US law, the embassy announced that the rule takes immediate effect to support stricter vetting procedures.

Specifically, the embassy called on student, vocational student, and exchange visitor visa applicants to set their social media accounts to ‘public’.

“All individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts,” the embassy said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

WHY SHOULD SOCIAL MEDIA BE SET TO PUBLIC?

The US Embassy explained that visa screening involved the use of all available information to assess applicant admissibility. This is particularly for those who may pose national security risks.

“Since 2019, the US has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms,” the embassy added.

Applicants must provide all social media usernames or handles they have used in the past five years. The embassy warns that failing to disclose this information could lead to a visa denial or make them ineligible in the future.

X USERS DISAGREE WITH US EMBASSY MOVE

Many social media users have voiced concern, with some calling the policy invasive or unnecessary. Meanwhile, others argue it may encourage applicants to delete or hide their accounts altogether.

X user @IanECox commented:

“Everyone will just suspend their social media accounts for a month and go dark. The only one you’ll be able to see is their LinkedIn profile.”