New Bill Would Mandate Social Media Background Checks Before Approving Gun Licenses

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - A new bill would force people to undergo social media background checks when they apply for a gun license in New York state.

Under the proposal, applicants would be forced to hand over their social media passwords to investigators so they can look for things like racial slurs, threats of violence, or terrorism-related posts.

The bill by State Senator Kevin Parker would mandate applicants provide investigators with their Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram passwords and access to their Google, Yahoo and Bing searches.

Authorities would be able to review the last three years of social media posts and a year of their search histories.

The measure appears to come in response to recent mass shootings whose suspects had posted threats or ranted about potential targets.

No vote is scheduled.