Tourists to US may be required to reveal five years of social media history
Tourists to the US could be required to provide their social media histories from the last five years to enter the country, in a new proposal being floated by the Trump administration.
The notice of the proposal, published in the government publication Federal Register on Tuesday, would also require visitors to the US to provide a five-year history of personal, business and family members’ phone numbers; a ten-year history of personal and business email addresses; and the addresses of family members.
The rules would apply to all new visitors, regardless of whether they are from countries that require visas or have an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) agreement in place, like the UK.
The notice was published in the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The public and federal agencies have 60 days to comment on the plans.
After the public comment period has passed, the agencies will review and analyse the submitted comments, followed by publication of the final rule with explanations of any changes, removals, or revisions made. After that, it is codified into the Code of Federal Regulations.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
If the plans go ahead, it would impact a significant portion of at least five million people that Fifa expects to attend the 2026 World Cup, which the US, Canada and Mexico are hosting.
Biometric information
The plans could continue to have adverse effects on tourism to the US, which has already been hit by restrictions that led to the detention or refusal of entry to a number of European visitors earlier in the year.
The CBP is also proposing that "aliens" voluntarily provide facial images and their geolocation to provide evidence they have departed the US, as part of its efforts “to fulfill DHS’s statutory mandate to collect biometric information from departing aliens”.
CBP will use geolocation services to confirm that the person reporting their departure is outside the US, and will use software to verify that the submitted photo is a "live" photo.
CBP is also proposing to replace the current ESTA website application with an ESTA mobile application. The website application process would be decommissioned, and all users would be required to use the app as part of a drive to “enhance security and improve efficiency”.
CBP argues that “bad actors” are exploiting vulnerabilities, such as uploading poor-quality photos of themselves or their passports to avoid detection.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
