The Trump administration has proposed new rules requiring tourists from visa-exempt countries, including the UK and France, to disclose five years of social media activity when applying for entry to the United States. The plan, published by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), also demands telephone numbers from the same period, email addresses from the past decade, and biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans. Applicants must provide names, addresses, and birthdates of family members, including children.
The changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) are designed to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump, which seeks to bar visitors who “bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”. The proposal comes amid a sharp decline in tourism to the US during Trump’s second term, with California expecting a 9% drop in foreign visitors this year and Las Vegas and Hollywood Boulevard reporting significant falls in foot traffic.
Canadian car travel to the US fell 36.9% in July 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, while commercial airline travel from Canada dropped 25.8%, as bilateral relations soured. The US has also imposed a $100 surcharge per foreign visitor for national park entry and ended free admission on Martin Luther King Jr Day, replacing it with free entry on Trump’s birthday. The administration has tightened visa rules for students and skilled workers, demanding social media access and imposing a $100,000 fee for H1-B visas.
The public has two months to comment on the proposed social media disclosure rule. CBP and Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, did not respond to requests for comment. The plan could disrupt travel for the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, with FIFA expecting 5 million fans in stadiums.
