A map showing the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) designated countries.

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Jasmine Laws

By Jasmine Laws

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President Donald Trump's plan to require foreign tourists to disclose up to five years of their social media history before entering the United States will have implications for travelers from dozens of countries.

The change would apply to those seeking entry into the country via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), instead of a visa.

Those that can apply through the ESTA must be nationals or citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, meaning all of these countries would be affected should the rule be implemented.

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Why It Matters

Since Trump's second term in office, his administration has been bringing in new policies to not only clamp down on immigration and border control, but also on entry for foreign travelers.

Earlier this year, a number of countries issued travel warnings to those hoping to visit the U.S. due to the reports of tourists being detained upon entry—even those who believed they had the correct documentation.

Trump's order stating that the government would recognize only two sexes—male and female—has implications for transgender travelers, prompting some countries to advise those who had a gender designation X or a changed gender to their one at birth in their passport to seek advice before traveling.

What To Know

The proposal, which was outlined in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection notice and published on the Federal Register on December 10, also calls for foreign tourists to provide information about family members, such as names, dates of birth, and places of residence, as well as other personal data.

The agency has said it also plans to collect previously used telephone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the last 10 years, IP addresses, and metadata from electronically submitted photos.

There are 42 countries in total that are part of the VWP, as shown on the map above. These countries include:

The proposal also comes ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., meaning the administration could be vetting the social media histories of football fans flocking to the country from abroad to watch the soccer games.

FIFA estimates around 7 million people will attend, and reports have said more than 1 million tickets have already been purchased by fans from 212 countries—many of whom will likely come from the potentially affected countries.

"Supporters [of the proposal] frame the policy as a national security measure designed to identify potential risks by analyzing social media activity for signs of extremist sympathies, violent intent, or other security concerns that traditional background checks might overlook," Geiguen Shin, a professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, told Newsweek.

Shin said that while the government has "a legitimate interest in vetting travelers who could pose serious threats, social media data are notoriously difficult to interpret—often laden with irony, cultural nuance, and political context that resist straightforward analysis."

"Broad-based screening of large volumes of data may produce significant numbers of false positives and increase administrative workloads, while individuals intent on concealing risk can adapt their behavior online," Shin said.

So, while the administration has cited national security as the reason for the proposed change, the idea has prompted concern among some.

"My concern is that social media surveillance can invisibly facilitate a type of second-class citizenship," Margaret Hu, a professor of law and director of the Digital Democracy Lab at William & Mary Law School, told Newsweek.

She said the move could also result in a kind of "social credit system, like the financial credit system, where certain rights and privileges are impacted in ways that we can’t see or challenge."

She said that it was important to understand that the gathering of social media would not only review the history of foreigners, as those foreigners will likely be interacting with U.S. citizens.

"Another issue here is that you can have someone tracked as a noncitizen one day and then, once they gain U.S. citizenship through naturalization—maybe they will marry a U.S. citizen or maybe the employer will sponsor them for a green card, or perhaps they’ll have another pathway to citizenship—what happens to the social media history data that has been collected and analyzed on them?" Hu said.

She added that it was unclear what would happen to that collected data and whether the government would delete it once citizenship was obtained.

"Who is going to store that data? Who is going to have access to that social media database? Will someone be able to hack into it or abuse it?" she said.

What People Are Saying

Margaret Hu, a professor of law and director of the Digital Democracy Lab at William & Mary Law School, told Newsweek: "The constitutional impact of social media surveillance is enormous. When our constitutional rights were first created by our founders, they were thinking of a physical world. What does it mean to restrain power in a digital world? We’re still trying to figure out whether this type of social media surveillance is legal or constitutional."

She added: "Vacuuming up mass amounts of social media data is something the government has done for over a decade, either directly or indirectly—both Democrat and Republican administrations have done it. Should social media surveillance by the government that will impact the rights of U.S. citizens require a warrant first?

"We’re about to celebrate the 250th birthday of the nation next year. This is a good time to think about whether we’re able to stay true to the constitutional protections that our founders intended."

Geiguen Shin, a professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, told Newsweek: "Requiring foreign visitors to disclose five years of social media activity would likely generate a range of implications beyond its stated security purpose. From a practical standpoint, it could introduce additional administrative steps in the travel process, potentially increasing uncertainty or hesitation among prospective travelers. This could deter travelers from visa-waiver countries and prompt them to choose alternative destinations, with downstream effects on the U.S. tourism sector, higher education, and broader cultural exchange.

"Moreover, it could strain relations with close allies whose citizens perceive the measure as treating them as presumptive security risks, and it may invite reciprocal screening measures against U.S. travelers abroad."

Shin added: "Awareness that social media content may be reviewed for entry purposes could influence online behavior globally, potentially leading individuals to moderate or withhold expression on political or social issues. Second, in the absence of clear standards, transparency, and oversight, social media review processes could inadvertently introduce bias related to language, nationality, or political affiliation, and such effects may be difficult to evaluate or contest.

"From a policy design standpoint, the key question is whether this measure achieves an appropriate balance between security objectives, administrative feasibility, and the United States’ broader commitment to openness and fair treatment of visitors."

What Happens Next

The Federal Register notice states that the U.S. public has 60 days to submit comments on the proposal.

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