The Trump administration is working on a proposal that would allow it to monitor the social media accounts of disability benefit recipients in an effort to crack down on fraudulent disability claims.

In its budget request last year, Social Security said it would investigate whether monitoring social media accounts could "increase program integrity and expedite the identification of fraud," according to The New York Times , which first reported on the proposal. Since then, the White House has been working with officials to further outline the proposed program, sources told the Times.

The idea is to use disability recipients' accounts to make sure they are actually disabled. For example, a person claiming disability for a debilitating back injury, but who posted a picture of themselves snowboarding, could raise flags.

While some lawmakers and conservative organizations have cheered the idea as a way to cut down on disability fraud, disability advocates say the concept could result in false determinations because photos do not accurately reflect a person's current condition.

Some people post photos from different time periods, and social media users are less likely to post pictures of themselves injured or feeling badly, the Times notes.

Some 10 million people currently receive monthly disability benefits, but the number has been shrinking in recent years, in part thanks to a strong job market.

President Donald Trump in the past two years has proposed cuts to Social Security's disability insurance program, which has been a part of Social Security since 1956, according to the Times.

Currently, disability examiners do not typically look at recipients social media accounts. If a case is flagged for potential fraud, investigators can use social media to corroborate information from other sources in conjunction with state and local law enforcement.

The Trump administration says it could authorize the new rule without approval from Congress, and is trying to ready the proposal for implementation in 2020, the Times reports.

