United States President Donald Trump’s administration plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice.
The proposal, laid out in a notice published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, would apply to visitors from 42 countries, including Britain, France, Australia and Japan, who do not need a visa to enter the United States.
Currently, those travellers only need to apply for a waiver known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), which still requires them to provide certain personal details.
Under the proposed new rules, the collection of social media data would become a “mandatory” part of ESTA applications. Applicants would need to provide their social media histories from the last five years, according to the notice.
They would also have to submit other “high-value data fields” including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.
The Trump administration has tightened curbs on entering the United States, part of a sweeping crackdown on migration.
Along with Mexico and Canada, the US will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is certain to attract large numbers of football fans from across the world.
