Australians are increasingly avoiding travel to the United States, with many boycotting next year's FIFA World Cup matches there, following the Trump administration's announcement of new rules requiring visitors to disclose their social media history. The US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) published a notice on Tuesday stating that tourists from 42 countries, including Australia, will have to reveal all social media activity from the past five years when applying for a visa waiver under the ESTA system. The rules, subject to a 60-day review, stem from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, which aimed to deny visas to those with 'hostile attitudes' toward US citizens, culture, or government.
Australian travellers have described the mandate as 'horrifying' and 'draconian', with some altering plans to avoid entering the US or moving family reunions to other countries. Travel data shows a significant decline in Australian arrivals even before the detailed rules were announced. In November, only 45,408 Australians arrived in the US, an 11% drop from the same month last year, and well below the pre-pandemic monthly average of over 100,000 in 2019.
Jonathan, a 42-year-old Sydney resident who asked for his surname to be withheld, said he cancelled plans to attend the World Cup in the US due to the policy changes. 'The whole thing disgusts me and is horrifying, frankly,' he said, adding that his wife's Chinese citizenship made border entry risky. Another dual US-Australian citizen, speaking anonymously, called the proposals 'terrifying' and said she would not visit until after the next US election. An Australian father of seven, also anonymous, said his family would limit travel to Canada and Mexico instead of attending the World Cup in the US.
Under the new rules, border authorities will also demand 'high-value data', including all telephone numbers and email addresses held over the past five years, as part of the ESTA application process, which will move to an app-only format.
