Visitors to the United States, including those from Australia, might soon face a new requirement: disclosing their social media history from the past five years. This is part of a proposed measure by the Trump administration aimed at tightening immigration protocols.
The proposal, put forward by US Customs and Border Protection and published on the Federal Register, would mandate travelers from visa waiver countries to submit additional personal details when completing their electronic applications.
This requirement targets those utilizing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the visa waiver program. It affects citizens from 42 countries, including Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Qatar, and numerous European nations.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Department of Homeland Security, which supervises CBP, have been made by CNN.
These proposed changes reflect a broader initiative by President Donald Trump’s administration to reform the US legal immigration landscape, alongside his well-publicized agenda to deport individuals residing illegally in the country.
Over the past 11 months, the Trump administration has implemented extensive modifications to nearly every aspect of the immigration process, aiming to significantly restrict both legal and illegal entry into the United States.
The administration also has placed heavy emphasis and scrutiny on the social media accounts of people in the US on student visas.
In June, the State Department told embassies and consulates they may vet applicants for student visas for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
According to those guidelines, applicants are asked to set their profiles to public, and lack of an online social media presence could be seen as a negative that may be held against them in the application process.
