If you're a foreigner, there is no way to win this if they are determined to make you lose. US visas as well as the documents for the Visa Waiver program make it clear that even if you do have all that is required, you are not guaranteed entry to the United States. The officer on the border can turn you back on a whim, and you have no legal recourse. Presumably they have some internal controls, but that won't help you in particular.
There is also a fairly good chance that someone else with your name does have a Facebook account, and I'm not sure how you'd prove that one of them isn't you.
Even worse, someone could create a fake Facebook account with your name and picture, and put some pretty damaging stuff on it. How would you prove to customs that no that really isn't your account, none of the public posts are yours and you really, truly have no way of logging in? It's like Doxing or SWATing taken to the next level, but you could potentially end up in jail.
If you think this is just the US, you are mistaken.
Interesting. Do they ever find anything that's actually incriminating?
Had one trip to the US where they asked how much money I was carrying. I said none, just a credit card. They asked if I were planning to work there. I said no, I'll pull money from the debit card as I go. They (presumably) acted puzzled about this.
The general rule is "if you make money while in a country, you need a work visa while in that country", but obviously that may be a bit outdated and not take into account remote positions. Many countries can/will fine, blacklist, and deport you if they find out you worked while within the country without a work visa; and it's _those_ people that you need to be able to convince "I'm not taking your jobs away!" to.
I'm a US citizen so I haven't looked into it from your POV, but I do know that a trip to Canada, for example, allows working remotely as long as:
* you work for an American company with no Canadian offices or branches[1],
* you are paid in American dollars, and
* that payment is deposited into an American bank account.
Again, depends on the country you're visiting (and possibly the country you're a resident of), so I'd double check before working on a trip just to be safe.
[1] If your company has branches where you're going, the safest bet is to get them to help arrange the trip. A have a family member that travels a lot on business and has been denied entry to countries while on business trips specifically to train the local branch, because even then it's a delicate situation.
(Not sure why I get downvotes but no clear answers to simple yes/no questions.)
However, what is workable is keeping your social media clean. Compartmentalize anything questionable, anything potentially embarrassing etc, using pseudonyms. And compartmentalize those pseudonyms on separate hardware, and avoid linkage through IP address, activities, interests, friends, etc.
Edit: It's cool to hear from itshoptx and gravypod that it's possible to go without mainstream social media.
- I've been in IT 20 years and have no social media
- I meet my friends in person, since they're all local, save 2, and we prefer to talk or text
- I've never had a potential employer bat and eye or even care that I have zero internet presence. In fact, many have said they prefer it because I'm not distracted whilst at work. Besides, I enjoy being something of an anachronism where this is concerned. Granted, my stance is my own and I encourage others to do what works for them. I have considered that when I travel I may be harassed because the powers that be will assume I am lying since everyone else seems to have social media accounts.
[1] from our homes, obviously, since that's where the phone is, unless you were one of the rare high school students carrying a cellphone that had a usable amount of minutes on it, and even then cell call quality was (is...) so crap that you'd prefer your home phone.
I haven't even had the sound/vibrate on my phone turned on for about a year now (which, honestly, is probably the most liberating decision I've made since then), as there's nothing in my life that can't wait however long it is until I check my phone next.
My social circle is decidedly non-techy, too.
I don't think there is a generalizable rule.
Nothing is needed from social media.
Or perhaps a government shouldn't be party to my social life?
I never modified my behavior. I just don't like the layout/UX of facebook/twitter.
> out of fear of consequences
This isn't being done for any specific reason, it's just a side effect of my dislike of their UI, management, and moderation.
> Or perhaps a government shouldn't be party to my social life?
If I'm texting, the government has it. I don't know what you are on about.
During the Chinese cultural revolution in the 1960s, anyone could anonymously post the names of "people they hated" as suspected counter-revolutionaries on public bulletin boards. A "fun prank," maybe, except that many of those reported were executed. [1]
This was contemporary with humans traveling into space. We're not out of the woods today—if anything, technology has raised the stakes.
[1] https://books.google.com/books?id=AfIydrsE6aMC&pg=PA163&lpg=...