US plans to order foreign tourists to disclose social media histories

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00:00Now, if you've criticized the U.S. government online, be warned.

00:04President Donald Trump is planning to require visa-exempt tourists to submit their social media histories

00:08from the past five years before entering the United States.

00:12Travelers from 42 countries, including France, Britain, Australia and Japan,

00:16are being asked to provide personal, family and biometric data through the ESTA system.

00:21The public is being invited to comment on the proposal over the next 60 days,

00:25part of a wider crackdown on migration and security.

00:28Let's bring in France 24's Washington correspondent, Fraser Jackson.

00:31Fraser, how unprecedented is this?

00:33And just take me through what will actually prevent people from entering into the United States.

00:40Well, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed this major expansion

00:44of the information required for an ESTA application,

00:46which is used by tourists from those visa waiver program countries.

00:51That means countries where travelers can stay in the U.S. for up to 90 days

00:54without needing to get a visa.

00:56Now, for the last few years, there's been an option to include your social media handles

01:00on those applications.

01:01But under this proposed change, which still has not gone into law yet,

01:05that would now become mandatory.

01:07And people's profiles would have to be made public as well,

01:10meaning that officers could comb through up to five years of data

01:13that people have posted online.

01:16They're also going to be asking in this application for phone numbers and email addresses

01:20used within the last five years,

01:21as well as names, dates of birth, places of birth, residences and telephone numbers

01:26of immediate family members as well.

01:29Now, the process will also move away from the website that CBP has

01:33and move to a mobile app, which will mean that features like passport chip verification

01:38and mandatory live selfie check and facial recognition will all now be able to be used as well.

01:44It's worth noting, though, that these changes are already in effect for anyone looking to get

01:49an immigrant class visa to the U.S.

01:51or anyone coming here on a work or study visa.

01:53But this marks a noted shift from the administration,

01:57with regular tourists from typically allied nations now coming under increased scrutiny.

02:02According to one immigration law office,

02:04the kind of things that officials are looking for include expressions of hostility

02:08towards the U.S. government, comments interpreted as support for extremist groups,

02:12online affiliations with flagged organizations,

02:15as well as inconsistencies between online content and submitted application materials.

02:21But really, the scope for what is considered against U.S. interest is what is concerning some groups now.

02:27The visa waiver program covers over 40 countries, including most European nations,

02:32Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and more.

02:36And the administration says that the goal is to enhance security.

02:38But again, experts worrying it's likely to further chill tourism here in the U.S.,

02:43which is already down this year, a decline that so far has cost the U.S. economy

02:48tens of billions of dollars just since January.

02:52Wow.

02:52It's stunning to think of this turn of events nonetheless.

02:56Fraser Jackson, thank you so much for coming to us from Washington.

02:59Let's

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