Social Media Intelligence as a tool for immigration and national security purposes

Internet monitoring and open source intelligence techniques are becoming an important part of terrorism detection and prevention system. The abundance of personal information in the social media is currently used not only to detect terrorist activities but in ‘regular’ policing as well. The article explores the possibilities of the use of the so-called Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT) in immigration procedures. Immigration services have unique capability to screen visa applicants in the context of their Internet postings. Such activity may allow to detect serious threats to national security, as well as verify visa eligibility in a more effective manner. However, SOCMINT techniques have their shortcomings which should be addressed in an appropriate internal policy governing their use.