Trump administration plans to require all foreign tourists to provide their social media history over the past five years to enter the country, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.
The data will be “required” for new travelers to the US, regardless of whether they come from countries that require visas, according to the statement notification from customs and border control.
Residents of the UK and Germany are among the countries whose visitors do not require a visa to visit the US, which could pose an additional hurdle for travelers, according to the notice. UK citizens and residents of other countries affected by the waiver can currently complete the Electronic Travel Authorization System instead of obtaining visas.
The Trump administration has tightened restrictions on entry into the United States, and President Donald Trump has campaigned to tighten border and immigration measures.
In addition to social media history, Customs and Border Protection will add other new fields to collect data, including email addresses and phone numbers used in the last five years, as well as addresses and names of family members, the notice said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. public has 60 days to comment on the proposal, according to a Federal Register notice.
Next year, the US will host World Cup events that are sure to attract fans from around the world, including the UK and other countries where visitors do not require a visa.
In June State Department announced People seeking certain types of visas to enter the United States were required to change their social media profiles to public ones.
Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group, called this step unprecedented and said the US restriction was aimed at “surveilling and suppressing international students' social media activity.”
Last week State Department announced that it would expand the “online presence test” to include H-1B applicants and their dependents.
Since Trump returned to office in January, the State Department has also tried to revoke visas for people in the US who have protested the war in Gaza.
The Trump administration also announced plans to crack down on various forms of legal immigration after an Afghan national was named as a suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last month. The suspect has pleaded not guilty.
