While a government policy initiated earlier this year requiring visa applicants to supply their social media handles may be unlikely to run afoul of international privacy regulations, the same may not be able to be said for laws a little closer to home.
Last week, filmmakers from the Doc Society and the International Documentary Association filed suit against Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf with a complaint alleging that the social media registration requirement ”has a significant chilling effect” on the way that members and partners use social media “especially for political speech.” Per the compliant, members often use social media platforms to promote their work and engage with the political themes in their films.
