The United States Department of Homeland Security has unveiled a contentious proposal that would compel millions of foreign visitors to submit half a decade of their social media history for scrutiny. The plan, targeting citizens from 42 allied nations who currently enjoy visa-free entry, represents a dramatic escalation in the digital screening of travelers and has ignited immediate debate over privacy, security, and diplomatic relations.
Currently, visitors from countries within the Visa Waiver Program—including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, and South Korea—obtain authorization to travel via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Since 2016, a question regarding social media identifiers has been included, but its disclosure remained optional. The new regulation would transform this into a compulsory requirement, mandating applicants to provide account names or handles associated with platforms used over the preceding five years.
The proposal, formally published in the Federal Register by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, extends far beyond social media. It seeks authority to collect a decade’s worth of an applicant’s email addresses, five years of telephone numbers, and extensive familial history. Furthermore, the document outlines an ambition to incorporate "high-value data fields" in the future, potentially encompassing biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scans, and photographic metadata. Officials frame the sweeping initiative as a critical enhancement to national security protocols.
President Donald Trump, whose administration originally introduced the optional social media question, has championed the stricter measures. "We just want people to come over here, and safe. We want safety. We want security. We want to make sure we're not letting the wrong people come enter our country," he stated. When questioned about potential negative impacts on tourism, he dismissed such concerns, asserting, "No. We're doing so well." The proposal emerges as the nation prepares to host several global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, periods anticipated to see a substantial surge in international visitors.
Civil liberties organizations and digital rights advocates have reacted with profound alarm, characterizing the move as an invasive overreach that threatens fundamental privacy rights. They argue that the collection of such vast personal data creates significant risks of misuse, profiling, and chilling effects on free expression. The lack of explicit criteria for how the information would be assessed or what content might disqualify an applicant further compounds these concerns. Analysts suggest the policy could deter travel from key allied nations and provoke reciprocal data demands from foreign governments on American citizens.
The proposal is now subject to a standard public comment period, after which federal authorities will review feedback before issuing a final ruling. Its implementation would mark a pivotal shift in the border screening paradigm, positioning the United States at the forefront of a global, and deeply controversial, trend toward the instrumentalization of digital footprints for state security. The outcome will likely resonate far beyond border checkpoints, influencing international norms around data, mobility, and the boundaries of security in the digital age.