US travel group, foreign tourists leery of Trump plan to vet social media

By Ted Hesson and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) – A U.S. travel association, a top Democrat, and would-be travelers from Europe and Australia are bristling at President Donald Trump’s new plan to require many foreign visitors using the visa waiver program to provide social media handles used over the past five years.

The change, announced in a U.S. government notice this week and expected to take effect on February 8, would require travelers from countries in the visa waiver program to submit the social media data. Applicants for immigrant and non-immigrant visas have been required to share that information since 2019.

The Trump administration has taken a range of steps to tighten vetting of foreigners entering the U.S. The requirement for additional information stemmed from a Trump executive order issued on January 20 calling for visitors to the U.S. to be “vetted and screened to the maximum degree,” according to the notice published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The visa waiver program allows travelers from 42 countries, mostly in Europe, to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without a visa. They must complete an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form, which under the change would require social media handles.

The U.S. would also require all email addresses used over the last 10 years and names, birth dates, residences and birthplaces of parents, siblings, children and spouses, the notice said, which is open for public comment for 60 days.

The U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will host soccer’s World Cup in 2026. The global event is expected to draw tourists from around the world. U.S. travel businesses are banking on the event to help rebound from a drop in tourism since Trump took office.

Erik Hansen, head of government relations for the U.S. Travel Association, said the group was reviewing the proposed changes and working with the administration.

“If we fail to deliver an efficient, secure and modern vetting process, international visitors will choose other destinations,” Hansen said in a statement.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a top Democrat from Washington state, criticized White House official Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda.

“It would be easier to just ban tourism,” Murray said in a post on X. “Who besides Stephen Miller is asking for this?”

Bethany Allen, head of China investigations and analysis at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the move was more restrictive than China’s border policies.

“Wow — even China doesn’t do this,” Allen wrote on X.

During a meeting with business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, Trump was asked if he thought the requirements could reduce tourism.

“We want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people into our country,” he said.

In response to a request for comment, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the notice was “simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe.”

Separately on Wednesday, the administration began accepting applications for a “gold card” that would allow people who pay $1 million to obtain U.S. permanent residency “in record time.”

A website for the programs, which critics say go beyond the scope of U.S. law, said a “platinum card” for people paying $5 million was “coming soon.”

(Reporting by Ted Hesson and David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)