The United States is set to require visitors from 42 visa-waiver countries, including Britain and France, to disclose five years of social media activity under a new Trump administration plan. The proposal, published by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), would also mandate telephone numbers used over the same period, email addresses from the last decade, and biometric data such as face, fingerprint, DNA and iris scans. Applicants would additionally need to provide names, addresses, birthdates and birthplaces of family members, including children.
The changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) are intended to comply with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, which called for restrictions to ensure visitors “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”. The move comes as tourism to the US has already dropped sharply in Trump’s second term, with California predicting a 9% decline in foreign visits this year and Las Vegas reporting a significant fall in visitors. Statistics Canada noted a 36.9% drop in Canadian car trips to the US in July 2025 compared with the same month in 2024.
The plan could disrupt travel for the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. Fifa expects 5 million fans to attend stadiums, with millions more visiting the region. The US has also imposed additional fees on foreign visitors, including a $100 surcharge for entry to national parks such as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the proposal, which is open for public comment for two months.
The administration has already broadened its crackdown on visas, instructing officials to deny visas to individuals who worked in factchecking or content moderation, accusing them of censorship. It has also proposed reducing visa lengths for foreign journalists from five years to eight months and introduced a $250 fee for visitors from non-visa-waiver countries. CBP claims authority to search electronic devices of entrants, though refusal is possible.
