Before allowing foreign tourists to enter, the US may request a five-year social media history.

 

The Trump administration has tightened border control since returning to the White House (file photo)(Image: Getty Image)

According to a new proposal presented by American officials, tourists from dozens of nations, including the United Kingdom, may be required to provide a five-year social media history prior to entry into the United States. As long as they have submitted an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form, individuals from dozens of nations who are eligible to visit the United States for 90 days without a visa would be affected by the new condition. President Donald Trump has moved to tighten US borders more generally since returning to office in January, citing national security as a primary motivation. Analysts say the new plan could pose an obstacle to potential visitors, or harm their digital rights.

Trump travels to promote his economic message and address concerns about living costs.

Due to its hosting of the men's football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the United States anticipates a significant influx of international tourists in the coming year. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which the agency is a part, both submitted the proposal document. According to the media in the United States, it was published in the Federal Register, the government's official journal. DHS has been asked to comment by the BBC. The proposal says "the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years", without giving further details of which specific information will be required.

 The existing ESTA requires a comparatively limited amount of information from travellers, as well as a one-off payment of $40 (£30).  It is available to citizens of approximately forty nations, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Australia, and Japan, and it permits them to visit the United States multiple times over the course of two years. As well as the collection of social media information, the new document proposes the gathering of an applicant's telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, and more information about their family members.

 "Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats" was Trump's January executive order, according to the text.

The plan would affect people from countries including the UK, which can fill out an ESTA form in lieu of a visa(Image: Getty Image)

The Trump administration previously announced it would examine social media accounts when vetting foreign nationals who apply for student visas or H1B visas for skilled workers.

 The state department stated that it will evaluate applicants' "online presence" and the dependents of those applicants. In order for this screening to take place, the privacy settings on all social media profiles need to be made "public." According to a notice posted on the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Mexico, some applicants for visas are required to list every social media username or handle they have used in the past five years. It warns that if any social media information is not listed, it could lead to both current and future visas being denied.

 A senior state department official said of the student visa policy: "It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day."

 Officers were instructed to screen for those "who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence".

After a State Crown display case in the Tower of London was vandalized, four people were arrested.

 Officials recently stated that an existing travel ban that affects 19 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean may soon be expanded as part of the administration's larger effort to tighten borders. After a shooting that killed two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC, an Afghan man was named as the suspect. That move was made public. The new proposal regarding ESTA data collection for tourists invites views from the public for 60 days.

 Sophia Cope, of digital rights organisation the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticised the plan, telling the New York Times that it could "exacerbate civil liberties harms".

 In the meantime, immigration law firm Fragomen suggested that applicants might have to wait longer for ESTA approvals, which could have practical consequences. Experts have previously suggested that the changes to travel policies introduced under Trump have had an impact on the American tourism industry.

 Earlier this year, the World Travel & Tourism Council said the US was the only one of 184 economies that it analysed that was expected to see a decline in international visitor spending in 2025.

"Wonderful, warm woman" is what people remember about author Sophie Kinsella.

Other Trump administration policies have also appeared to impact tourism to the country, such as many Canadians boycotting US travel as a form of protest against Trump's tariffs.

 October marked the 10th straight month of decline in the number of Canadian travellers to the US.  In the past, Canadians have made up about a quarter of all international visitors to the US, spending more than $20bn (£15.1bn) a year, according to the US Travel Association.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS