US plans to scrutinize foreign tourists’ social media history

By CHRISTINE CHUNG

Travelers visiting the United States from countries like Britain, France, Germany and South Korea could soon have to undergo a review of up to five years of their social media history, according to a proposal filed last week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The change would affect visitors eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows people from 42 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they first obtain electronic travel authorization.

In a document filed last Tuesday in the Federal Register, CBP said it plans to ask applicants for a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children.

Under the current system, applicants from visa waiver countries must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. They pay $40 and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. The authorization is good for two years.

This move from CBP follows similar actions by the U.S. government to conduct social media reviews for some visa applicants, including seekers of the H-1B visas awarded to skilled foreign workers, as well as applicants for student and scholar visas. It also follows the government’s pending plans to collect a new $250 visa integrity fee from many visitors, though visitors from visa waiver countries are exempt from that fee.

The travel industry has pushed back on the visa integrity fee. In November, a coalition of more than 20 tourism and travel businesses signed a letter of opposition, citing concerns that the fee would discourage millions of prospective international visitors to the United States, including those traveling to events like next year’s World Cup.

A travel industry official who spoke anonymously because his organization had not yet had time to review the proposal said CBP did not brief industry stakeholders on the plan, which he called a significant escalation in traveler vetting.

In the notice, CBP said it would accept 60 days of public comments on the proposal.

If the plan is approved, CBP could enact the changes gradually over the following weeks and months, the immigration law firm Fragomen said in an alert. Bo Cooper, a partner at Fragomen, called the government’s new approach to social media screening a “paradigm shift” from when agencies used social media to verify specific facts, such as criminal activity.

“The new method involves looking at online speech, and then denying travel based on discretion and policy about the kinds of things that get said,” Cooper said, adding, “It’ll be interesting to watch the tourism numbers.”

The firm warned that the government’s increase in data collection could result in longer waits for travelers to get authorization to visit the United States, in addition to “an increased likelihood of being flagged for closer scrutiny.”

Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, said in a statement that the mandatory social media disclosure and surveillance would “exacerbate civil liberties harms.”

“It has not proven effective at finding terrorists and other bad guys,” she added. “But it has chilled the free speech and invaded the privacy of innocent travelers, along with that of their American family, friends and colleagues.”

CBP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.