Diakun: Collecting Carry Permit Applicants’ Social Media Data is the First Step on a Slippery Slope

This dragnet collection of social media information by the government has a chilling effect on [concealed carry permit] applicants’ exercise of their right to speak and associate with others online. The statute requires a list of all “social media accounts” — a broad term that includes platforms like Goodreads, MyFitnessPal, LinkedIn, and countless others that are unlikely to shed light on whether applicants are likely to harm themselves or others.

Disclosing those accounts will, however, expose a wealth of personal information to government scrutiny. Faced with the knowledge that the government is watching, many will censor what they say, not knowing how it might be interpreted. They may also stop engaging on social media with controversial individuals or groups — think Black Lives Matter, pro- or anti-abortion groups, or gun advocacy organizations. These harms are even greater for people who use pseudonyms on their social media accounts to protect their privacy or out of fear of retaliation, and who will be forced to give up their right to speak anonymously online in exchange for a license. …

Instead of weeding out those likely to commit violence, the registration requirement is more likely to inject bias into the process. Licensing officers’ political, religious, and social views may warp their perceptions, leading them to disproportionately disqualify applicants from marginalized communities. (A similar concern underpins recent efforts to limit the use of rap lyrics in criminal proceedings.) At the same time, language barriers, a lack of cultural context, and the risk of misinterpreting sarcasm and hyperbole all make the likelihood of misunderstandings high.

If allowed to stand, this law won’t be the last time we’re forced to hand over intimate and wide-ranging information in exchange for the ability to exercise our rights. The federal government is already collecting social media handles from visa applicants from other countries — nearly 15 million a year — under a requirement put in place by the Trump administration. (The Knight Institute, where I work, has challenged the visa requirement’s constitutionality in court.) One can easily envision a future in which such demands are routine, whether it is for a concealed-carry license or a driver’s license.

— Anna Diakun in New York’s Gun Law Goes Too Far: Requiring Concealed-Carry Applicants to Register Their Social Media Accounts Is Unconstitutional