The Trump administration has proposed requiring travelers from 42 visa-exempt countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, and Qatar to provide five years of social media history as a mandatory requirement when applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization before entering the United States for tourism or business stays under 90 days.
Under the plan published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection would also collect what officials call "high value data elements" including email addresses used over the past ten years, telephone numbers from the last five years, extensive personal information about immediate family members such as their names, birth dates, birthplaces, residences and phone numbers, plus biometric data like fingerprints, DNA, and iris scans along with metadata from electronically submitted photographs.
The proposal implements President Donald Trump's January executive order calling for enhanced screening to prevent entry of potential national security threats, though authorities have not specified what content they're seeking in social media accounts or provided evidence demonstrating that such surveillance improves security outcomes.
Civil liberties organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression have criticized the mandatory disclosure as an invasion of privacy that chills free speech and harms innocent travelers along with their American family, friends, and colleagues, noting that earlier Department of Homeland Security reports found no criteria for measuring whether social media screening actually identifies threats or enhances security capabilities.
The 60-day public comment period remains open before the policy becomes final, with immigration experts warning the new requirements could significantly delay ESTA's typically rapid approval process and create barriers for millions of annual visitors from allied nations who currently enjoy streamlined entry procedures costing only $40 for two-year authorizations.
