In Denmark, caseworkers can demand Facebook log-ins to verify asylum-seekers’ identities, while in the UK, refugees’ social media accounts can be legally checked if they claim to be fleeing persecution for being gay. The US already collects public social media data from visa applicants and is extending this to refugees; valid visa holders have been denied entry due to posts made by friends.
A booming mobile forensics industry allows authorities to bypass passwords on digital devices, enabling them to download, analyse, and visualize personal data – even data that the user believes they have deleted. Immigration officials in Germany, UK, Norway and Austria routinely mine asylum-seekers’ phones for routes, messages and other private data.
