Key takeaways

• The Trump administration has proposed making five-year social media disclosure mandatory for visa-free tourists using the US ESTA system.
• The rule would affect citizens of 42 Visa Waiver Program countries, including the UK, EU states, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
• Applicants would have to share five years of social media handles plus long histories of email addresses, phone numbers and family details.
• Travel and rights groups warn the plan could chill free speech, damage tourism and deter visitors ahead of major events like the 2026 World Cup.
• Nepali citizens already face social media checks on visa forms, and Nepali diaspora holding Visa Waiver passports would now face similar scrutiny through ESTA.

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A new Trump administration proposal to require visa-free tourists to hand over five years of social media history before entering the United States could subject tens of millions of visitors to deeper digital surveillance and may discourage people from traveling to the US, industry and rights groups have

Under the plan, travellers from 42 Visa Waiver Program countries who now use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) would have to list all social media “identifiers” they have used in the past five years before they can board a flight. The change would mainly affect visitors from close US partners such as the United Kingdom, most of the European Union, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

A notice published in the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says social media information would become a mandatory data field on ESTA, not an optional question. The same proposal would also require applicants to give up to 10 years of email addresses, several years of phone numbers and home addresses, and more detailed information on close family members.

CBP says the expanded checks are meant to strengthen national security by helping officials spot potential threats and “hostile attitudes” toward the United States before travellers ever reach the border. The rule is open for a 60-day public comment period and is expected to take effect as early as February 8 if it is finalised without major changes.

The proposal builds on an earlier 2019 State Department rule that already forces most US visa applicants worldwide to disclose five years of social media identifiers on their DS-160 or DS-260 visa forms. If the new rule is approved, nearly all foreign visitors to the United States, whether they need a visa or travel visa-free, would face some form of social media screening.

Travel and tourism groups say the latest move could have a chilling effect on visitors who fear their online comments might be misread by US officials. The US Travel Association has warned that the policy could reduce visitor numbers and hurt an industry that is still recovering, including ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup that the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico.

Civil liberties and digital rights organizations argue that screening tourists’ social media in this way risks punishing lawful political speech and may push people to self-censor online. Some groups have compared the plan to practices used by authoritarian governments and say it undermines the US image as a defender of free expression and privacy.

For the Nepali diaspora, the impact will be indirect but real. Nepali citizens already need visas and must list five years of social media history on their visa applications, but many Nepali-origin travelers who now hold passports from the UK, EU countries, Australia, Japan or other Visa Waiver states would face the new ESTA checks every time they visit family, study or attend events in the US. This could add paperwork, raise privacy worries and make some people think twice about short trips.

The proposal could still change after the comment period, and legal challenges are possible once a final rule is issued. For now, lawyers advise potential travelers to keep records of all social media usernames they have used in the past five years and to be prepared to disclose them accurately if the rule comes into force.