Since President Trump took office earlier this year, he has introduced all kinds of policies intended to crack down on immigration. Here’s the latest example of that, which is sure to be controversial (thanks to Aaron for flagging this)…
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have just filed a 60-day notice and request for comments in the Federal Register, in order to update the information that is collected for visitors arriving via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This would include low risk visitors from dozens of countries, ranging from Germany to Japan.
Perhaps the update that deserves the most attention is this one:
In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application. The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years.
As you can see, with this proposal, providing five years of social media history will become a standard part of the ESTA application process. Details beyond that aren’t yet known, including what level of detail will need to be shared about social media (are we just talking social media account usernames, or…?).
In the past, we’ve seen the government require foreign nationals to make their social media accounts public if they’re applying for student or work visas. However, just requiring this from your typical “low risk” tourist is an escalation of existing policies, and not a requirement that you’ll find in many countries.
Look, we all have our own political opinions, including about the Trump administration’s approach to immigration and tourism. While I think my opinions on that are pretty clear, what’s my take on this specific change? Well, I don’t necessarily have a huge issue with it directly, but it just seems kind of silly to me.
Keep in mind that when you enter a foreign country, you’re basically giving up all your rights at the border. For example, CBP is allowed to search through your phone, look through your social media, read your messages, etc.
So by requesting this information in advance, you’re not actually subjecting yourself to any more scrutiny than you could otherwise potentially experience. That being said:
- There’s no denying that this will make a lot of visitors uncomfortable, because at least in terms of the perception of such a request, it likely won’t be well received
- For the most part, I can’t imagine the government will do a whole lot with this information, for your average visitor applying for an ESTA, so it just seems kind of silly to request it
- If there’s no requirement to make social media accounts public (which would make many people super uncomfortable), then one wonders what purpose this will serve
- Unlike the legal rights that people have when in the United States, visitors can be denied an ESTA to the United States for virtually any reason, so the government has a lot of latitude there
My big picture take here is that this will be off-putting to many, and will further reinforce the negative perception that some people currently have about visiting the United States. That being said, clearly increased tourism isn’t really a huge priority of the current administration, and that’s fair enough. After all, Trump ran on a platform of emptying out the United States (well, and affordability, but that’s a different story), and that’s what people voted for, so…
Bottom line
The United States plans to start requesting social media information from ESTA applicants, whereby even those coming from low risk countries will have to provide five years of social media history as part of their application process.
Ultimately this wouldn’t be a request for anything that the government couldn’t otherwise demand at the border. However, there’s no denying this won’t be very well received, and will leave a lot of people feeling uncomfortable.
What do you make of the US asking for social media history of ESTA applicants?
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