U.S. to inspect tourists social media history from past 5 years

The U.S. is planning to impose social media inspections on some tourists as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up travel restrictions for foreign visitors.

Tourists — including those from Britain, Australia, France, and Japan — will be mandated to provide five years of their social media history as part of their applications to visit the U.S., according to a notice posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, on Wednesday. The proposal, which has been given a 60 day-notice with requests for comments from the public, is not final and may see some revisions.

Tourists from nations that are included in the U.S.’ Visa Waiver Program can apply to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, to visit the country for 90 days or less, with a fee of $40. The social media check will now form a “mandatory data element” as part of the ESTA application.

The border force said it will also collect “several high value data fields,” including applicants’ email addresses from the past 10 years, their telephone numbers used in the past five years, and names and details of family members.

In addition to social media checks, applicants will also be expected to upload “selfies” which CBP said will improve their screening processes and better identify whether a person is the rightful possessor of the documents being used to secure an ESTA authorization.

The plan is an escalation of a series of measures Trump has implemented in recent months to restrict the movement of foreign travelers, after a man from Afghanistan was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House.

The president said at the time that he would tighten immigration rules, including “permanently” pausing all migration from “third-world countries,” as he cast blame on his predecessor, Joe Biden, for admitting “millions.”

More recently, the Trump administration said it is expanding its travel ban to more than 30 countries, which was initially announced in June and previously blocked travel to the U.S. from 12 countries and restricted access from seven others. Some of the countries included are Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Haiti.

“If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment from CNBC.