Last week, a new State Department policy took effect requiring applicants for U.S. visas to provide email addresses, phone numbers and social media handles they’ve used over the past five years. While such a policy may not exactly be in vogue given the renewed focus on personal privacy both domestically and abroad, it seems unlikely to seriously ruffle any regulatory feathers internationally.
“I agree that this approach may conflict in principle with data protection laws around the world, but in practice the type of information is not more sensitive than other types of information already collected for visa applications,” said Paige Boshell, managing member of Privacy Counsel LLC.
