US immigration could ask tourists for up to five years of social media history

Tourists to the US from countries including the UK could be asked to reveal their social media activity from the last five years, according to proposals from the US government.

The new plans would affect anyone applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) which allows visitors to stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa.

In a publication on December 9 on the Federal Register, the official journal of the US Government, US Customs and Border Protection said it plans to add social media as “a mandatory data element” for all Esta applications.

The publication also proposed decommissioning the Esta website, meaning applications in future would be solely through the mobile app.

This is intended to avoid “poor-quality passport photo submission” and “fraudulent third-part websites”.

In addition, the photo upload for the Esta website and mobile would be updated to require applicants to provide a “selfie” photograph, in addition to a photograph of their passport page.

The notice specified that travel agents would be required to provide both photographs of applicants for the Esta.

Other biographic data will also be required for applications “when feasible”, such as telephone numbers used in the last five years, email addresses used in the last 10 years, family member names for parents, spouses, siblings and children and biometrics such as face, fingerprint, DNA and iris.

The notice gives the public 60 days to comment on the proposed changes, which are being made to comply with an executive order from January of this year named ‘Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats’.