Overview
- Customs and Border Protection filed a December 10 Federal Register notice proposing that ESTA applicants submit five years of social media usernames.
- The draft changes would also collect phone numbers from the past five years, email addresses from the past decade, and detailed family information.
- The requirements would apply to citizens of 42 countries who use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days.
- CBP states it will not request passwords or login credentials and will examine only publicly available information on listed accounts.
- Reaction is split, with civil‑liberties groups calling the plan disproportionate while supporters argue the expanded screening is a security necessity.