International students sue over Trump’s social media surveillance plan

is a policy reporter at The Verge covering surveillance, the Department of Homeland Security, and the tech-right. Fifteen Iranian students and researchers sued the Trump administration for completely halting student visa interviews while it determines whether to vet all visa applicants’ social media accounts. The suit, filed against Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Virginia federal court, claims that the pause on student visa interviews violates the Administrative Procedures Act, a law prohibiting capricious rule-making. The complaint is currently sealed. In an email, Curtis Morrison and Hamdi Masri, lawyers for the students, noted that the State Department has required visa applicants to disclose their social media handles since May 2019. Visa applicants from certain Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, are already subject to “extensive social media vetting,” Masri said, adding that Trump seemed to want to “ensure students entering align with his political values.” The st ... Read full article.