Fed Background Checks To Include Social Media History

The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, has signed a policy expanding the purview of investigators gathering information for a security clearance to include the subject’s social media history. Historically, clearance assessments have involved interviews with a person’s family and friends. Details of the pending change in policy came to light in a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. The Office of Personnel Management, which along with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence conducts such background checks, has already begun the process of selecting companies that can provide social media tracking services. Among the issues aired during the committee hearing: whether the process will be effective when people use pseudonyms and how it will address the problem of identifying the owner of the account when it’s under a common name.