<figure id="attachment_3233247" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3233247" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3233247 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/53d8b301-13535548_cropped_2.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3233247" class="wp-caption-text">The US Customs and Border Protection agency has included social media as a mandatory data element for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization application. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
WASHINGTON: A new proposal from the Trump administration would require visitors to the US to provide five years of social media activity for review as a condition of entry.
The news broke yesterday, six months exactly before the start of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.
The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, a wing of President Donald Trump&#8217;s homeland security department, submitted proposed changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) per a notice posted in the Federal Register, the official journal of the US government.
&#8220;In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the US From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application.
&#8220;The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years,&#8221; the agency added.
It&#8217;s unclear exactly how the social media reviews would occur or what specifically would cause the government to interfere with a foreigner&#8217;s entry into the country.
However, the rule would apply to 42 countries that participate in the &#8220;US visa waiver programme&#8221;, which includes the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.
Fifa has not commented on the matter.
&#8220;If you&#8217;re going to start disallowing people from coming on vacation to the US because their politics might be a little bit left of centre, the economy is going to be hit in a bad way,&#8221; Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Front Office Sports.

MatchPoint Times

US proposes 5-year social media review for World Cup tourists

The rule will apply to 42 countries that participate in the US visa waiver programme.

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