Citizens of countries traditionally considered low-risk allies of the United States will soon be required to provide information about their social media accounts upon arrival in the country. Under plans announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), travelers from 42 countries, including Germany, Israel, Australia and Japan, will be subject to the same strict screening as the rest of the world.
Previously, travelers from these 42 countries were visa exempt, meaning they could travel to the United States for a maximum of 90 days without applying for a visa, provided they received approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The new proposals mean travelers will likely soon be forced to reveal their social media history, phone numbers and email addresses as part of the travel approval process.
DHS said the proposal, which will reportedly take effect on February 8, 2026 unless first challenged in court, has its origins in President Donald Trump’s order that people arriving in the country be “screened and monitored to the greatest extent possible.” The move follows the State Department’s announcement in August that all U.S. visa holders would be subject to “ongoing investigation,” including on social media.
How would traveler social media verification work?
Travelers must provide social media usernames and phone numbers used in the last five years, as well as email addresses from the last ten years, on their entry forms.
In theory, the US government would only be able to see publicly available information unless it collects more data directly from social media companies, which was not mentioned as a possibility in the documentation. However, it is noted that biometric data and a range of personal data about the applicant’s family members will, where possible, be added to the entry requirements.
The logistics of actively monitoring such a large number of accounts raise a number of questions, as David Ellis, a digital behavior expert at the University of Bath, England, tells DW. “How should they handle all this data? Are they only interested in what you say or also what you consume?” asks Ellis, who is also a member of the Institute for Digital Security and Behavior.
“Most people don’t say much on the internet, but it’s obvious that we all see content online that we don’t agree with or have any interest in. So how does (the U.S. government) differentiate between what is a red flag and what you were just shown and watched for three seconds?”
What will the US look for in tourists’ posts?
The executive order that led to the proposal cited concerns about terrorism as a reason for increased attention to people from abroad. “The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens already present in the United States are not hostile to its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and that they are not defending, aiding, or abetting designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security,” it says.
For Ellis, phrases like “hostile attitudes” are dangerously ambiguous and could be used against people who have liked, viewed or shared something they may not even agree with.
“You could look at someone’s TikTok history and see that they watched a video promoting extreme views, but they only watched it for a second. Is that better than if they watched it for 30 seconds?” he asked. “From an ethical point of view, they should give a reason, but they could limit themselves to saying: ‘We don’t like your use of social networks’, in order to make it more difficult for people who want to come to the country with good intentions.”
There is no specific indication of what would prevent a person from entering the United States. One clue may lie in the U.S. government’s arrest and revocation policy, which aims to identify and expel aliens who violate U.S. law, regardless of the severity of the violation.
The program uses artificial intelligence-based surveillance tools to monitor foreign nationals in the United States by monitoring their presence on social media and at protests. Legal experts and human rights groups have warned that the program particularly targets individuals who appear to express support for U.S.-designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas or Hezbollah when they defend the rights of Palestinians.
Ellis suspects that the new proposal will use similar, if not the same, technology for tourists. “The resources required to review everything manually are simply impossible to find. You have to use specific queries. Whatever the decision, there will be huge financial and environmental costs. I wonder how much thought has gone into this and how many ‘bad people’ will actually be caught,” he added.
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