New U.S. Policy: Social Media Checks Mandatory for Foreigners

The US government, led by President Donald Trump, is about to enact a new law requiring foreign visitors who are not required to have a visa to provide their social media history prior to entering the US.

According to an official notice published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, the proposed rule will apply to visitors from 42 visa-waiver nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Japan, who currently do not need a visa to enter the US.

It was reported that at present, travellers from these nations only need to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), which requires the provision of basic personal information.

However, the current proposal aims to make it “mandatory” for ESTA applicants to disclose their social media accounts and activities from the previous five years.

The notice states that visitors would be required to provide “social media histories from the last five years,” marking a significant expansion of the data the US demands from visa-free entrants.

The Trump administration plans to gather what it refers to as “high-value data fields” in addition to social media data.
Among them are:

phone numbers from the previous five years
Email addresses used in the past 10 years
Family members’ personal information

Biometric data
Before the draft rule is finalized, the public has been given sixty days to provide feedback.

The program constitutes part of the administration’s broader, years-long crackdown on migration and border security. In the guise of national security and integrity of vetting, the Trump administration has consistently increased entrance rules.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is anticipated to attract millions of tourists from all over the world, will be jointly hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada.

The latest proposal is likely to affect large numbers of football fans planning to travel for the global tournament, it was reported.