Tech firms, privacy groups slam DHS password collection plan
A coalition of tech companies and civil liberties organizations issued a letter slamming a proposal that Customs and Border Protection officials could begin collecting social media and mobile device passwords as a condition for travelers to enter the United States.
The letter's signatories also include individual tech and legal experts from universities around the world, as well as 50 groups representing journalistic, digital privacy, constitutional and religious interests.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, is also a signatory. In a separate statement, CCIA president and CEO Ed Black called the proposal "unprecedented and unwarranted." At a Feb. 7 House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified that DHS would consider including social media password collection at border crossings as part of its developing "extreme vetting" protocols.
