US Travelers May Be Required to Disclose Their Social Media

Recently, the American President Donald Trump and his administration halted immigration from several third world countries. To further ensure that individuals who should not be in the country are not allowed entry, it may soon become mandatory to disclose their social media upon arrival.

The Trump administration proposes a comprehensive change that would require all foreign tourists to show up to five years of history on their social media before they can travel to the USA.

The request to access the history would become a “mandatory data element” for travelers applying through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) online, which allows citizens of visa-exempt countries to apply for permission to travel to the USA for short visits without obtaining a traditional visa.

The proposal described in a notice from the US Customs and Border Protection also requires the disclosure of information about family members. The agency also plans to collect previously used phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the last ten years, as well as IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos.

If the proposal is implemented, the review of social media would be expanded to include ESTA-approved countries that were previously exempt, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.

Entry Denied

Last week, the Department of State announced plans to also expand the review of social media to include H-1B visa applicants and their relatives.

In June, the agency announced that individuals applying for certain types of American visas would need to make their social media profiles publicly available.

Since President Donald Trump took office, there have been several reports of travelers being denied entry to the USA based on posts on social media and messages found on their personal devices.