Social media checks will be incorporated into federal background investigative authority for security clearance holders, intelligence leaders said.
“Social media has become an integral — and very public — part of the fabric of most American’s daily lives,” Bill Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in a statement issued on Friday. “We cannot afford to ignore this important open source in our effort to safeguard our secrets — and our nation’s security.”
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Thursday signed the order, Security Executive Agent Directive Five, which permits officials to look at the social media profiles of applicants for security clearances, though doing so will not be required.
“Absent a national security concern, or criminal reporting requirement, information pertaining to individuals other than the individual being investigated — even information collected inadvertently — will not be pursued,” stated the press release issued by Clapper’s office.
“In addition, investigators may not request — or require — individuals to provide social media passwords, log into a private account or take any action that would disclose non-publicly available social media information,” the release added. Responding to concerns about privacy, Evanina called the guidelines “a small price to pay to protect our nation’s secrets and ensure the trust the American people have placed in us.”
The move comes as members of Congress have called for more social media screening by security officials across the board, particularly for visa applicants and security clearance holders.
