Australians, New Zealanders and citizens of 40 other visa-exempt nations might soon have to disclose up to five years of social media history before entering the United States, under a new proposal from the Trump administration.
The proposed change – published this week in the US Federal Register – would bring the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) into line with tourist visa applications, which have required social media disclosure since 2019. Until now, providing that information on an ESTA form has been optional.
If implemented, the rule would make five years of social media identifiers a mandatory component of ESTA applications, alongside additional “high-value data fields”. These include phone numbers from the past five years, email addresses from the past decade, details of family members, and biometric information.
The proposal is now open for a 60-day public comment period, closing in early January.
The move comes amid a broader tightening of US immigration and entry controls under the Trump administration, which has expanded social-media vetting across multiple visa categories over the past year. Students and skilled-worker applicants have already faced new requirements to make social media profiles available for review.
Legal and policy experts quoted by US media have warned the expanded measures may have implications for online privacy and freedom of expression, while travel industry observers have raised concerns about the policy’s impact ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
