Dec 11, 2025

Tourists May Have to Provide 5 Years of Social Media Activity and More

On Dec 10, CNN posted this story - US plan would require some visitors to provide social media information from last 5 years.  I highly suggest you read the whole thing, but here are some highlights - 
  • Some visitors to the United States may soon have to provide their social media history from the prior five years to enter the country, according to a new Trump administration proposal.
  • The proposal is posted on the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection.
  • The requirement would be for travelers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as part of a visa waiver program for citizens from 42 countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Israel and Qatar, as well as many other European countries.  ESTA is an online application visitors from these countries use to travel to the US for under 90 days without a visa.
  • The proposed changes to the visa waiver application include making provision of social media history mandatory and adding “high value data elements,” including the person’s phone numbers and email addresses over the prior five years, plus close family members’ names and birth dates, along with their birthplaces, residences and phone numbers over the prior five years.
  • The Department of Homeland Security oversees CBP (Customs and Border Protection).
  • According to 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.



READ MORE 

Foreign tourists required to disclose 5 years of social media activity in US proposal ~ The Hill.  In March, a French academic was denied entry before being deported back to Europe for posting messages critical of the Trump’s administration’s research policies.  


WHO TO CONTACT

Your opinion only matters if you let someone know!  The more people who speak up, the more meaningful our opinions will be.

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From the Federal Register page:  Comments are encouraged and must be submitted (no later than February 9, 2026) to be assured of consideration.  Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice must include the OMB Control Number 1651-0111 in the subject line and the agency name. Please submit written comments and/or suggestions in English. Please use the following method to submit comments:   Email: Submit comments to: .

Requests for additional PRA information should be directed to:

Seth Renkema, 
Chief, Economic Impact Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings
90 K Street NE, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20229-1177
Telephone number 202-325-0056 
or via email:  CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov.
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DHS (The Department of Homeland Security) oversees CBP (Customs and Border Protection).

Kristi Noem, Secretary of DHS
Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Lane, SW
Mail Stop 0485
Washington, DC 20528-0485

You can see other DHS people on their Leadership page.

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Rodney S. Scott Chief, U.S Customs Border patrol 
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20229 

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340 Dirksen Senate Office Building 
Washington, DC, 20510

Chairman is Rand Paul.  
Gary Peters is the Ranking Member (the Dem leader)

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In my search for Rodney Scott's address, this information came up for contacting the Senate Committee on Finance and it's worth a shot -

The mailing address for submitting statements for the record regarding Rodney S. Scott, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is:

Senate Committee on Finance
Attn. Editorial and Document Section
Rm. SD-219
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6200

MORE CONTACTS

If you want to write or call someone else about this issue, check the CONTACTS PAGE. Besides frequent contacts, this page also has links to help you easily find others - senators,  and representatives, of course.  There's also a link to a list of committees and their members, so you can target lawmakers who would have the most influence on an issue.

ALSO, check out the TIPS AND RESOURCES page for links to resources that I truly believe you will find helpful.