Background checks

Federal Background Checks Will Soon Involve Your Life on Facebook

Director of Intelligence James Clapper signed a policy Thursday allowing background check investigators to scan public social media postings as part of their assessment. The policy was signed in advance of a House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing Friday morning.

In the past, clearance investigations have involved interviews with the candidate’s friends and family.

“Today, with more than a billion individuals on Facebook, what a person says and does on social media can often give a better insight on who they really are,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and chair of the subcommittee on government operations, said during the hearing.