This report examines the technical challenges associated with incorporating bulk, automated analysis of social media information into procedures for vetting people seeking entry into the United States. The authors identify functional requirements and a framework for operational metrics for the proposed social media screening capabilities and provide recommendations on how to implement those capabilities.

Face recognition technologies (FRTs) have many practical security-related purposes, but advocacy groups and individuals have expressed apprehensions about their use. This report highlights the high-level privacy and bias implications of FRT systems. The authors propose a heuristic with two dimensions -- consent status and comparison type -- to help determine a proposed FRT's level of privacy and accuracy. They also identify privacy and bias concerns.

Aid flowing into Syria is intended to determine the outcome of the conflict between rebel factions and Damascus. Instead, it could perpetuate the civil war and ignite larger regional hostilities that could reshape the political geography of the Middle East. This report examines the main factors likely to contribute to or impede the spread of violence from civil war and insurgency in Syria, and then examines how they apply to neighboring states.