The United States is considering major changes to its entry requirements that would require international visitors to submit five years of social media history before entering the country.
According to report, a notice in the US Federal Register reveals that applicants would need to provide all social media accounts, email addresses, phone numbers, and detailed information about immediate family members during the screening process.
Currently, UK citizens and travellers from other Visa Waiver Programme countries can visit the US for up to 90 days using ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) – a straightforward online application with a small processing fee.
The proposed changes would significantly expand what information travellers must share.
New requirements would include biometric data collection such as facial recognition, fingerprints, iris scans, and potentially DNA samples during the online application stage.
These checks are currently only done in person at US borders. A mandatory selfie would also become standard for all visa and ESTA applicants.
US officials say the enhanced screening is essential for national security.
However, privacy advocates warn the measures could violate civil liberties, pointing to previous cases where travellers were denied entry based on content found on their personal devices.
Discover more from ParrotMouth
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
