US could ask tourists for five-year social media history before entry

Tourists from dozens of countries, including the UK, could be asked to provide five years of social media history as a condition of entry into the United States, under a new proposal unveiled by US officials.

The new condition will affect people from dozens of countries who are allowed to visit the United States for 90 days without a visa as long as they fill out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.

Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has taken steps to tighten U.S. borders overall, citing national security as a reason.

Analysts say the new plan could discourage potential visitors or harm their digital rights.

Asked whether the proposal could lead to a sharp decline in U.S. tourism, Trump said he was not concerned.

“No. We are doing well,” the president said on Wednesday.

“We just want people to come here and be safe. We want security. We want security.

“We want to make sure we don't allow the wrong people to come into our country.”

The US is expecting a significant influx of international tourists next year as it hosts the men's World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The proposal document was submitted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its member agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

It was published in the Federal Register, the official journal of the US government.

The sentence states that “the data element will require ESTA applicants provide information about your social networks for the last 5 years” without providing details about what specific information will be required.

The current ESTA requires travelers to provide relatively limited information and a one-off payment of US$40 (£30). It is available to citizens of about 40 countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan, and allows them to visit the US multiple times over a two-year period.

In addition to collecting social media information, the new document proposes collecting applicants' phone numbers and email addresses over the past five and 10 years, respectively, as well as additional information about their family members.

The text cites Trump's January executive order entitled “Defending the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other Threats to National and Public Security.”

The new proposal for ESTA data collection for tourists invites the public to provide their views within 60 days.

“For those coming to the United States, nothing has changed on this front,” a CBP spokesperson said in a statement.

“This is not a final rule, it is simply a first step to begin discussing new policy options to keep the American people safe.”

Sophia Cope of the digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized the plan, telling the New York Times that it could “exacerbate the damage to civil liberties.”

Meanwhile, Fragomen Immigration Law Practice has suggested that this could have practical implications as applicants would face longer waits for ESTA approval.

The Trump administration previously announced it would review social media accounts when vetting foreign nationals applying for student visas or H-1B skilled worker visas.

The State Department said it will conduct “online presence” checks on applicants and their dependents, and that privacy settings on all social media profiles must be “public” for such checks to take place.

An announcement on the website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Mexico states that some visa applicants must provide all social media usernames or handles for each platform they have used in the past five years.

It warns that failure to provide any social media information could result in both current and future visas being refused.

A senior State Department official said of the student visa policy: “American citizens expect their government to do everything it can to make our country safer, and that's exactly what the Trump administration is doing every single day.”

Officers were tasked with screening those “who defend, assist, or support designated foreign terrorists and other national security threats; or who commits unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence.”

As part of the administration's broader efforts to tighten borders, officials recently said the existing travel ban affecting 19 countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean could soon be expanded.

The move was announced following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., in which an Afghan man was blamed.

Experts had previously suggested that tourism policy changes made under Trump had an impact on the American tourism industry.

Earlier this year, the World Travel and Tourism Council said the US was the only one of 184 economies analyzed that expected international visitor spending to decline in 2025.

Other Trump administration policies also appear to have impacted tourism to the country, with many Canadians boycotting travel to the US to protest Trump's tariffs.

October marked the 10th consecutive month of decline in the number of Canadian travelers to the United States.

In the past, Canadians made up about a quarter of all international visitors to the U.S., spending more than $20 billion a year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.