Googled on trying to enter the US?
 

Does anyone know if the DHS routinely Googles individuals travelling into the US? There was a news story about how "U.S. Border Patrol Bars Canadian Psychotherapist With Drug Research Far in His Past".

Not routinely.

I was Googled entering Canada in 2008. Very weird. But they found me and apparently weren't bothered by what they found. I had entered Canada roughly once a month for about a year, and maybe it seemed like a lot to somebody.

Bruce

I got Googled upon entry into Canada some years ago too.

Given misinformation is part of the internet picture -- or even perhaps the whole picture -- reliance upon online searches of Google can be an invitation to relying upon fiction.

That's why Francine likes to use it.

Francine Fishpaw?

I got Googled entering Canada as well. It was earlier this year.

Odd.

My guess: as long as you're not either a certain former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania or a close relative of his, you should be fine.

Francine Kerner

How do you know you were Googled?

"So you say you're a marketing manager for RIM?" (type, type, type) "Ah, there you are." That's not to say one cannot fake a LinkedIn page or other website, but Google can still be a good place to start.

When I was Googled in 2008, the Canadian immigration guy showed me the screen.

Bruce

So what do they Google? Your name? What do they do when they find 76 million results for John Smith?

I think they are able to refine their searches to find what they are looking for much like you and I are.

I'm not sure what's scarier - that a government agency is using Google to get their nation-protecting done, or that Google may have more accurate and invasive databases than governments do.