Arya News - Foreign tourists will be required to hand over the past five years of their social media history to enter the US, in Donald Trump’s latest border crackdown.
Foreign tourists will be required to hand over the past five years of their social media history to enter the US , in Donald Trump’s latest border crackdown.
Travellers visiting from countries including the UK, Germany and France will be asked to provide data as well as other personal information including email addresses from the last decade and details of their relatives, according to official documents.
The US Customs and Border Protection laid out the changes on Tuesday night, which would also affect visitors on the visa waiver programme .
In June, the State Department announced that it would require tourists on certain types of visas to make their social media profiles public.
The move has been made ahead of the World Cup and Olympics, which will be held in the country in 2026 and 2028 respectively. Each attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists.
Currently, applicants from visa waiver countries must apply for the electronic system for travel authorisation programme, pay $40 (£30) and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. They are then authorised for two years.
Mr Trump has imposed a harsh crackdown on immigration since entering office including by implementing stricter entry requirements.
In August, the Trump administration said it wanted immigration services to start screening the social media accounts of potential visa and green card applicants for “anti-American activity”.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said “anti-American” activity would be considered an “overwhelmingly negative factor” when deciding whether immigrants would be accepted to legally live and work in the US.
The government also screens the social media accounts of some applicants for student and scholar visas.
Earlier this month, Mr Trump froze all immigration applications from 19 countries across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean and cancelled citizenship ceremonies across the country. He is also considering extending the travel ban to more than 30 countries following the alleged shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC by an Afghan national, according to the New York Post.
The US president has called for “reverse migration” , saying on social media that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries to allow the US system to recover”.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.