File photo for reference only

 

American officials are considering a new rule asking foreign tourists, including those from the UK, to disclose five years of social media history before being allowed entry. This would affect tourists from about 40 countries eligible for a US visit without a visa, contingent on completing an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) form. This proposal aligns with President Donald Trump's efforts to tighten US borders, citing national security concerns.

 

The proposal comes as the US anticipates a tourist surge for upcoming major events like the Men's Football World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. The plan, filed by US Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, appeared in the Federal Register, the US government's official journal. New details released mention the potential requirement for applicants to provide phone numbers, email addresses, and more detailed family information alongside their social media history.

 

Digital rights advocates warn this could infringe on visitors' digital freedoms, suggesting potential delays in ESTA approvals. Sophia Cope from the Electronic Frontier Foundation condemned the plan as potentially harmful to civil liberties. Fragomen, an immigration law firm, noted possible practical impacts including longer wait times for ESTA clearance, affecting tourism.

 

The US government’s broader immigration strategy has also led to a travel ban on 19 countries across Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. The proposal invites public opinion over a 60-day period, allowing for feedback on the potential impact. It's part of a wider effort focusing on stringent vetting processes for safety reasons, including mandatory social media profile reviews for specific visa applicants.

 

These policy shifts connect to a broader decline in international tourism to the US, with earlier measures already deterring visitors from countries like Canada. Experts claim such decisions might negatively affect the tourism industry, evidenced by falling Canadian visitor numbers, a key demographic in past years. How this new measure will impact upcoming tourist seasons remains a question, reported the BBC.

 

 

 

Key Takeaways:

 

• New US proposal may require tourists to share five years of social media data.
• Move coincides with the expected tourist influx for major global events.
• Digital rights and tourism sectors express concern over potential impacts.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-12-11

 

 

 

Not just foreigners. Just this year I received a lifetime ban from Facebook for trash talking 47 and Zuckerberg. My very last post was "WTF, Zuck?"

 

Orwelle is rolling in his grave, along with all the founding fathers.

In case you were wondering, Aseannow.com is not a social media platform itself; rather, it is a commercial news website that hosts a large discussion forum. It functions as a platform for community discussions, news consumption, and sharing information for expats and travelers in Thailand and the ASEAN region.

 

I guess we're safe - for now . . .

All sounds very communist to me.

If it happens it will be a nightmare for World Cup fans who want to go to the US.  But it won't happen.

5 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

If it happens it will be a nightmare for World Cup fans who want to go to the US.  But it won't happen.

The fact that we're even talking about it like it COULD happen is a very sad sign of the times we're living in.

I suspect its largely theatre. Visa applications have required this information for quite some while now, and for my last ESTA, I needed to disclose information. How much is actually checked? If a former Afghan Commando, who had been through multiple developed or positive vetting over a 10 year period could somehow suddenly post a load of very dodgy material on the internet that doesn't draw the slightest interest, I have my doubts. And how does GDPR impact this? Any organisation that provides access within the EU has GDPR responsibilities. GDPR protection extends to everyone on the planet, if at any time their data has been processed through the EU. GDPR includes the right to be forgotten, which deletion of identifiable data.

 

As a result, most local US news sites are now blocked in the EU. The major issue is the third party trackers; if you have a site thats funded through adverts. Not only does that complicate things from the perspective of COntrollers, but there is added complication about obtaining contents. The extension of GDPR-like legislation around the world is likely to result in increased parochialism of the internet.

Good thing the US doesn't rely too heavily on tourism.

 

Oh... wait....

You didnt think they gave you Fakebook because they care about you, did you?

 

(tracking system.... data harvester...... profiler.......etc)

Unless people use their real names.. How would that work? Most people know nowadays to remove such things media from their phones before travelling to the US.

 

Show us your social media accounts!

 

I don't have any.

 

Then what? Are they going to waste hours searching the internet for any mention of all tourists arriving in the US?

Then. Your are banned from entry because you bad mouthed our Dear Leader.

 

Ha ha. You might as well shut down all tourism to the US for the foreseeable future.

The World Cup is the only attraction the US has going for it. There is nothing else, and they even want to f*** that up.

In fact I predict they will. Pretty certain that there will be some bad headlines and photos plastered across the world's media, overshadowing any great matches as Trump's goons batter people.

11 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

If it happens it will be a nightmare for World Cup fans who want to go to the US.  But it won't happen.

 

Its happening already; ESTA requires submission of social media account names. Its not clear if anything is actually done with it. And, for those who do want to cause trouble, I suspect relatively easy to circumvent. The concerning thing is not what the American government will know about you; they won't know much because they don't have the resources, but how secure is that data held. The vast vast majority of tourists will bear the US no ill will. 

 

About 80 million people visit the US each year for touristic purposes, plus about 5-6 million business travelers.

 

The amount of data on social media is staggering. Facebook generates 5 petabytes of date per day, everything from stupid cat photos to hate content, and everything in between.  Thats 5 million gigabytes. About 500 million Tweets a day are sent, 100 million IG posts per day. There are 3 billion active Facebook accounts. The global population is 8 billion. 1.7 billion fof those accounts are in Asia and Europe.

 

The US government generates about 1000 petabytes of data a year; an educated guess based on 2009 estimates.

 

If we assume all 80 million  visitors to the US have at least one social media account, then to analyse 5 years of data, the US needs to process 250 petabytes a year, and not only that, process searches within the typical 4-5 working days, and keep within the fee being charged, a 25% increase in the current workload.

 

When Snowden the Traitor defected, he lifted the lid on the activities of the NSA, and the potential for intrusion into the lives of private citizens. That caused consternation from both sides of the political divide. That was 12 years ago.

 

But some questions to be asked to Americans, irrespective of political hue. Do you always trust the IRS to get your taxes assessed correctly? Do you ever have billing problems with Medicare? Traffic light and speed cameras are quite rare in the US. WOuld you trust them to collect data on vehicles accurately? This might be a case of the cart before the horse; a policy that actually can't be followed. I might be wrong, and perhaps technical experts might comment further, from an apolitical point of view.

 

If they really do have that capability, how come these child sex offenders seem to get away with so much, apparently unnoticed by the authorities?

34 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

Good thing the US doesn't rely too heavily on tourism.

 

Oh... wait....

 

On the face of it, actually enforcing the policy seems extremely expensive. ESTA fees will generate about $2.4 billion in receipts. What's the metric being used to show the policy is actually worthwhile?

24 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Unless people use their real names.. How would that work? Most people know nowadays to remove such things media from their phones before travelling to the US.

 

Not only the US.

 

I have an old iPhone that has been factory reset that I take when I travel to the UK. I don't want to get Graham Linehan'd at the airport and be greeted by 5 armed policemen and arrested because I made a trans joke last year.

 

I also use false/altered names on all social media accounts and carry my Free Speech Union credentials with me at all times. 

 

Sad times. But when you can get jail time for making fun of Eni Aluko's football commentary you have to take precautions. 

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

Unless people use their real names.. How would that work? Most people know nowadays to remove such things media from their phones before travelling to the US.

 

The vast majority would comply with requirement. Ultimately, the opposition to digital ID is fairly soft. The challenge is the Federal Authorities is being swamped with huge amounts of data, without being able to show effectiveness (the test of the policy; what's it supposed to improve).

 

Right now, ESTA is requiring you to share email addresses you use, social media handles, including professional social media.  While you might not be on social media, your digital footprint means you can be linked to activity, say here. Well, that's the idea. Your digital footprint isn't on your phone.

1 hour ago, Roadsternut said:

 

The vast majority would comply with requirement. Ultimately, the opposition to digital ID is fairly soft. The challenge is the Federal Authorities is being swamped with huge amounts of data, without being able to show effectiveness (the test of the policy; what's it supposed to improve).

 

Right now, ESTA is requiring you to share email addresses you use, social media handles, including professional social media.  While you might not be on social media, your digital footprint means you can be linked to activity, say here. Well, that's the idea. Your digital footprint isn't on your phone.

That's why I have different emails for personal. business, social media etc. Also helps to keep my personal email inbox free from spam.

9 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

When Snowden the Traitor defected, he lifted the lid on the activities of the NSA, and the potential for intrusion into the lives of private citizens. That caused consternation from both sides of the political divide. That was 12 years ago.

When American hero Edward Snowden exposed govt illegal actions by spying on their own citizens, he escaped a lengthy US prison term. This was the state of surveillance 8 years ago. Intrusion into the privacy of ordinary people worldwide has rocketed exponentially (along with speed cameras everywhere). With AI, govts will know when we take a wee and how often we shag.

 

Suggest you watch Enemy of the State again and the TV series Person of Interest.

9 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Not only the US.

 

I have an old iPhone that has been factory reset that I take when I travel to the UK. I don't want to get Graham Linehan'd at the airport and be greeted by 5 armed policemen and arrested because I made a trans joke last year.

 

I also use false/altered names on all social media accounts and carry my Free Speech Union credentials with me at all times. 

 

Sad times. But when you can get jail time for making fun of Eni Aluko's football commentary you have to take precautions. 

It was that Palestine Action t-shirt gave you away!

16 hours ago, phetphet said:

That's why I have different emails for personal. business, social media etc. Also helps to keep my personal email inbox free from spam.

 

Many do that. And many people will share all of those Email accounts. The policy won't lead to no one giving any details. On the contrary, it will be an enormous haul of data, which might not be secure.

9 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

This was the state of surveillance 8 years ago.

 

He fled in 2013. Despite the election of people who's world view overlaps with his (he was not a liberal), we can see where his true loyalties lie. He spun a good story to fool people into thinking what he did was heroic (it was the very opposite. To be heroic is to have the courage of your convictions).

8 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

He fled in 2013. Despite the election of people who's world view overlaps with his (he was not a liberal), we can see where his true loyalties lie. He spun a good story to fool people into thinking what he did was heroic (it was the very opposite. To be heroic is to have the courage of your convictions).

So, the state of surveillance 12 years ago. Anyone whose brain has not been through the spin cycle can see where this is going: Skynet.

 

I'm genuinely interested to hear where you think Ed's loyalties lie. I'm asking because I met the man for a few hours during his escape & I've got my own impression of him.

 

This can be interpreted a multitude of ways: "To be heroic is to have the courage of your convictions." Perhaps what you mean is that he should have stuck fast, been arrested, gotten life in a US supermax (with, of course, the possibility of a death sentence).

 

By those standards, Chelsea Manning must be your hero. Great Thunberg, Nelson Mandela. Sophie Scholl. Julian Assange. The Valve Turners against pipelines, the Catholic Workers hammering on nukes, myself jumping onto nuclear submarines and refusing the US draft, Palestine Action pouring red paint. All these examples share the fact that we stuck around and waited to be arrested to make a point. We were following our consciences and raising public consciousness over these issues. We faced the music.

 

So what do you think Ed was all about? Personally, I think living in Russia is pretty much a life sentence for him. No travel, because the US would catch him and grind him to a pulp. Certainly no freedom of speech. But...it ain't supermax.

 

Tell me what you think. I'll reserve my emoji till then! 

 

 

On 12/11/2025 at 7:13 AM, Purdey said:

All sounds very communist to me.

Authoritarians can be found on the extreme left and on the extreme right of the political continuum. What is currently being promoted in my country’s government is coming from the right …

On 12/11/2025 at 7:22 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

If it happens it will be a nightmare for World Cup fans who want to go to the US.  But it won't happen.

I encourage a boycott of travel to USA until/unless trump and his Project 2025 ilk are gone … as an American, I will not be stepping in USA until this happens. I would end up being arrested for self defense in the face of any deemed unreasonable search and/or seizure.

7 minutes ago, Wrwest said:

I encourage a boycott of travel to USA until/unless trump and his Project 2025 ilk are gone … as an American, I will not be stepping in USA until this happens. I would end up being arrested for self defense in the face of any deemed unreasonable search and/or seizure.

Hope the boycott works by March. That would mean shorter lines at major attractions.

On 12/11/2025 at 8:22 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

If it happens it will be a nightmare for World Cup fans who want to go to the US.  But it won't happen.

The average football fan can't afford tickets to the World Cup so no worries 

 

why only for foreign visitors? i'm pretty certain far more crime, and the vast majority of gun crime, is committed by us citizens, so shouldn't they get their own house in order first? just sayin'.

US Eyes Five-Year Social Media Check for Foreign Visitors

 

What does a "five-year social media check" even mean?  Then comes reality - who is going to check?  Which new department of Social Media content?  

 

So you present your phone at the immigration queue and the officer scrolls back through 5 years of Facebook posts, while those behind in the queue wait.....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It takes long enough to scroll back through a week let alone 5 years!

26 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

So you present your phone at the immigration queue and the officer scrolls back through 5 years of Facebook posts, while those behind in the queue wait.....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It takes long enough to scroll back through a week let alone 5 years!

That's what I was thinking.

Also, I have two phones, one strictly for business and the other for killing time. I don't bring the "killing time" phone on me with trips to the US. They look at my business phone and won't see any social media at all.

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

Hope the boycott works by March. That would mean shorter lines at major attractions.

Shorter lines, less revenues, job cuts, close business. 

2 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Shorter lines, less revenues, job cuts, close business. 

Liberals are in perpetual unhappiness. Get well soon.