The United States government is preparing new entry requirements that will compel visa exempt foreign travellers to submit their social media histories before visiting the country.
The plan, initiated by the administration of US President Donald Trump, was disclosed in an official notice posted in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
According to the notice, “The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice.”
The proposed policy targets nationals of 42 countries, among them Britain, France, Australia and Japan, who currently enter the US without a visa under the existing waiver programme.
At the moment, such travellers only complete the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which demands basic personal information.
It was also gathered that the new measure seeks to expand those requirements significantly.
Under the updated framework, “the collection of social media data would become a ‘mandatory’ part of ESTA applications.”
The notice added that applicants would be required to submit details of their social media activity covering half a decade.
It also outlined additional information that will be demanded from intending visitors.
According to the document, “They would also have to submit other ‘high-value data fields’ including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.”
