[governance] Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US

Riaz K Tayob riaz.tayob at gmail.com
Tue Jan 31 10:23:44 EST 2012


31 January 2012 Last updated at 12:51 GMT


  Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US

Post-9/11 USA is highly cautious of any perceived threat, Abta said

Holidaymakers have been warned to watch their words after two friends 
were refused entry to the US on security grounds after a tweet.

Before his trip, Leigh Van Bryan wrote that he was going to "destroy 
America".

He insisted he was referring to simply having a good time - but was sent 
home.

Trade association Abta told the BBC that the case highlighted that 
holidaymakers should never do anything to raise "concern or suspicion in 
any way".

The US Department for Homeland Security picked up Mr Bryan's messages 
ahead of his holiday in Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old bar manager wrote a message to a friend on the 
micro-blogging service, saying: "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep 
before I go and destroy America."

The Irish national told the Sun newspaper 
<http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4095372/Twitter-news-US-bars-friends-over-Twitter-joke.html> 
that he and his friend Emily Bunting were apprehended on arrival at Los 
Angeles International Airport before being sent home.

"The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of 
terrorist," Mr Bryan said.

"I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet."

No joke

Abta, which represents travel companies in the UK, said holidaymakers 
need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about 
forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11.

Continue reading the main story 
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16810312#story_continues_2>


    "Start Quote

    Airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes
    to potential risk"

Abta

"Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as 
threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere 
- will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it told the BBC.

"In the past we have seen holidaymakers stopped at airport security for 
'joking' that they have a bomb in their bag, thoroughly questioned and 
ending up missing their flights, demonstrating that airport security 
staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk."

In another tweet, Mr Bryan made reference to comedy show Family Guy 
saying that he would be in LA in three weeks, annoying people "and 
diggin' Marilyn Monroe up".

Mr Bryan told the newspaper that he was questioned for five hours about 
his Twitter messages.

'Tweeter account'

After the interview, Homeland Security's reported: "Mr Bryan confirmed 
that he had posted on his Tweeter website account that he was coming to 
the United States to dig up the grave of Marilyn Monroe.

"Also on his tweeter account Mr Bryan posted he was coming to destroy 
America."

Paul Chambers was fined after posting a message about Robin Hood Airport

The US Customs and Border Protection agency said in a statement that it 
tried to maintain a balance between "securing our borders while 
facilitating the high volume of legitimate trade and travel that crosses 
our borders every day".

It added: "We strive to achieve that balance and show the world that the 
United States is a welcoming nation."

Mr Bryan is not the only person to suffer from a misjudged tweet. In 
January 2010, Paul Chambers tweeted that he would blow snow-affected 
Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster "sky high!" if it was not reopened in 
time for him to see his girlfriend.

He was fined £385 plus £2,600 in costs - a sum which actor Stephen Fry 
offered to pay on Mr Chambers' behalf.

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