US set to enforce compulsory social media screening for foreigners

The United States government is set to implement a new policy that will compel visa-exempt foreign travellers to submit their social media history before entering the country.

According to an official notice published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, the proposed policy will apply to visitors from 42 visa-waiver nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan, who currently do not need a visa to enter the US.

Currently, travellers from these nations only need to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), which requires the provision of basic personal information.

However, the new proposal seeks to make the disclosure of social media accounts and activity from the past five years a “mandatory” requirement for ESTA applicants.

The notice stated that visitors would be compelled to provide “social media histories from the last five years,” marking a significant expansion of the data the US demands from visa-free entrants.

Latest information also revealed that the Trump administration intends to collect what it describes as “high-value data fields.”

These include:

Phone numbers used in the last five years
Email addresses used in the past ten years
Personal details of family members
Biometric information
Members of the public have been given 60 days to comment on the proposed rule before it is finalised.

This new policy is part of the crackdown of Trump’s government on migration and border security. Since his return to the White House, the US leader has tightened entry requirements to the country, including the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make arrests.

The US, alongside Mexico and Canada, is set to jointly host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an event expected to draw millions of visitors from around the world.

It is believed that the proposed policy is likely to affect the number of football fans planning to travel to the US for the World Cup event.

Let hear you in the comment.