When does Privacy Cost Dreams?
By Simrit Kaur, SC Friday, Aug 01, 2025
Foreign students will be required to unlock their social media profiles to allow US diplomats to review their online activity before receiving educational and exchange visas, the US state department has announced. Those who fail to do so will be suspected of hiding that activity from US officials. This provision, which was announced under the pretext of preventing “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to US national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence,” looks like a turning point for a nation historically valorized for upholding the ideals of democracy, liberty and freedom. It not only violates the ideals that laid the foundation of the United States of America in 1776, but also conditions freedom and personal autonomy for each student, who dares to dream about its educational prowess and resources. Scholars and academic experts suggest that it would not be surprising to see the country fall prey to dictatorship in the near future. For all those who look at the US as the ‘city of dreams’, this statement was a wake-up call that made the global community realize that the great USA is now nothing more than a gilded cage.
