WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign nationals eligible to travel to the United States without a visa may soon face new regulations requiring them to provide extensive information regarding their social media accounts, email addresses, and their family history to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prior to travel authorization.
This announcement, published in a recent notice in the Federal Register, suggests that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is proposing to collect up to five years of social media activity from selected countries exempt from visa requirements. This move follows the Trump administration’s push for tighter monitoring of international travelers.
The new requirements would apply to travelers from more than thirty countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, who typically submit their information through an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This system performs preliminary screenings without necessitating an in-person embassy or consulate visit.
The new proposal would greatly expand the scope of information required by the existing ESTA application, which currently only collects basic details like parents’ names and a current email address. Under the new regulations, applicants would be required to disclose telephone numbers they have used over the past five years, a decade's worth of email addresses, and detailed metadata from submitted electronic photographs.
Additionally, applicants would need to provide extensive details about their family members, including places of birth and contact numbers. President Trump has expressed that these measures are necessary for national security, stating, We want safety, we want security, we want to make sure we're not letting the wrong people come into our country. Despite the potential impact on tourism, he conveyed confidence in the necessity of the proposed measures.
Members of the public have a 60-day window to comment on the proposed changes before they can be enacted. Concerns have arisen regarding the implications of increased scrutiny over travelers, particularly with regards to privacy and individual rights. Previous policies were already enforcing similar requirements for travelers from nations not under the Visa Waiver Program.
This move is seen as part of a broader trend of increased restrictions on immigrants and travelers to ensure that potential threats to national security are effectively screened and mitigated.
