Possible new wording:
Foreigners who can enter the United States without a visa may soon have to share details about their social media profiles, email addresses and even extensive family backgrounds with Homeland Security before they’re allowed to travel. The Federal Register, published on Wednesday, announced that Customs and Border Protection wants to collect five years of social media data from travelers coming from certain countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program, as part of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). These travelers are normally screened automatically and granted travel clearance without needing a visa interview at an embassy. The Department of Homeland Security runs the program, which lets citizens from roughly 40 mainly European and Asian nations visit the U.S. for up to three months without a visa. According to the notice, CBP will soon request additional information, such as phone numbers the applicant has used in the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, metadata from photos sent electronically, and detailed family data—including each member’s birthplaces and telephone numbers. The current ESTA application already asks for a narrower set of questions, like the parents’ names and the applicant’s current email address.
During a White House event, President Donald Trump said he was not concerned that the new rules could hurt U.S. tourism. “We want safety, we want security, we want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come into our country,” he said. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal before it could take effect. CBP officials have not yet responded to inquiries about the changes.
The notice did not explain exactly what the agency is looking for in people’s social media accounts or why it wants more information. However, it stated that the move is in line with an executive order signed in January that calls for greater screening of newcomers to prevent potential national‑security threats. Travelers from countries outside the Visa Waiver Program already had to provide social media data – a requirement that started in the first Trump administration and continued under President Joe Biden – but citizens of visa‑waiver countries were not previously required to do so.
Since January, the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of both new arrivals and those already in the United States. Visa rules have tightened, now requiring applicants to set all of their social media accounts to public so that officials can more easily check for content deemed disqualifying. Failing to set accounts to public could lead to visa denial according to State Department guidelines. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now reviews whether applicants for benefits, such as green cards, have “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti‑American, terrorist, or antisemitic views. This heightened focus on social‑media vetting has drawn criticism from immigration and free‑speech advocates, who worry that the administration’s criteria may target critics of the government and infringe upon free‑speech rights.
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