Foreign tourists could be required to disclose 5 years of social media histories under Trump administration plan

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Dec. 9, 2025, 11:02 PM EST


The Trump administration plans to require all foreign tourists to provide their social media histories from the last five years to enter the country, according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The data would be “mandatory” for new entrants to the U.S., regardless of whether they are entering from countries that require visas, according to the notice from Customs and Border Protection.

Residents of the United Kingdom and Germany are among the countries from which visitors do not require visas to visit the U.S., which, according to the notice, could add an extra hurdle for travelers. British citizens and people of other waived countries currently can complete “Electronic System for Travel Authorizations” in lieu of obtaining visas.

The Trump administration has increased restrictions on people entering the U.S., and President Donald Trump ran a campaign that focused on border and immigration crackdowns.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/foreign-tourists-five-years-social-media-history-customs-border-protec-rcna248337

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And they published that mess in the Federal Register. The whole thing needs to be withdrawn as a violation of the First Amendment.

[BOSSHOG]

1. How bout republicans disclose

Five years of criminal history. How bout the Supreme Court take a refresher in constitutional law.

[bdamomma]

2. I just

posted the same article and deleted it.

This is a moment.

Stephen Miller and his ilk need to be rounded up.

[genxlib]

3. Not sure that the First amendment applies to foreign visitors

At least not legally although it damn well should if we actually practiced what we preached.

I think the question that has to come after this is WTF are they looking for. Are they looking for anti-Trump sentiment, DEI sentiment, bragging about universal health care, fat shaming Americans. Who the hell knows.

Short of making plans to plant bombs on Facebook, what the hell would actually trigger a problem.

Amazing how people complain about being called fascists and then do stupid fascists stuff in the same breath.

[GCG]

7. It does, but it's complicated.

Yes, the First Amendment generally applies to foreign visitors and non-citizens physically present in the U.S., protecting their free speech and assembly, but these rights aren't absolute and can be complicated by immigration law, meaning actions leading to deportation might differ from those for citizens, creating a complex legal area. While they can protest and speak freely, the government has more power regarding visas and removal, though courts have recognized First Amendment limits on immigration enforcement for speech.

[eppur_se_muova]

24. Thanks, I wondered about that. OF COURSE Trmp will just say it doesn't apply period and force them to prove him wrong ..

which will take months in court, for each individual case. Bogging down the courts with 'caseload incontinence' is an old and well-practiced Trmp maneuver.

[dickthegrouch]

28. Seems more like a fourth amendment violation

Classic search and seizure of personal effects.
No probable cause.
No warrant.

[fujiyamasan]

40. The search is conducted when they're not on American soil

So the fourth amendment wouldn’t apply to them, especially since they’re foreign nationals.

If the search was done here, I could see it being more complicated, but look what ICE gets away with. Even for citizens on American soil the fourth amendment seems increasingly quaint.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Authoritarian Thought Control /nt

[Blues Heron]

5. Wtf is a social media history- every post and fave you've made? How do you submit something like that?

[pimpbot]

6. How would they even determine what accounts you have?

Plenty of fake accounts out there not using real names. This is an idiot rule thought up by idiots.

[JohnnyRingo]

8. I think we all see where this is going

They'll do a scan looking for the word trump

[bdamomma]

9. this other article should be included too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250328-the-people-boycotting-travel-to-the-us. From March 2025. FYI

'A hostile state': Why some travellers are avoiding the US

[BlueMTexpat]

16. FYI, I received

an error message from your link.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Needs to be used without the trailing dot

https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250328-the-people-boycotting-travel-to-the-us

[BlueMTexpat]

39. Thanks!

It works just fine now!

[bdamomma]

19. oops

it was from March 2025, sorry you didn't receive it.

[lark]

10. If thwy so this for the WorldCup - it will be the worst attended ever and a total shit show because of krasnov.

He personally is detrmined to fuck it up!!

[MLWR]

11. And who exactly is going to read all those social media entries?

And how much is this pile of BS going to cost us the taxpayers?

[Red Mountain]

18. Elon's AI

and it will cost plenty.

[eppur_se_muova]

25. Right on both counts. The usual AI "quality control' will attend. nt

[dalton99a]

12. Who wants to visit a nasty shithole controlled by a demented, deranged dictator

[Lonestarblue]

13. Why anyone wants to visit the US anymore s a mystery.

Trump is killing the US tourism industry. Non-white foreigners especially know they face extra scrutiny and perhaps refusal of entry, which means they’ve wasted the cost of a plane ticket. Even white people are not safe. I remember from months ago the two German teenagers who traveled to Hawaii but had not made hotel reservations. They were refused entry but only after agents had strip searched them. I doubt the agents were reprimanded for violating the privacy of two young girls.

[tanyev]

14. Arrivederci, tourists.

[Diamond_Dog]

15. And with the World Cup and Olympics coming up.

Looks like the world will see lots of empty seats in the stadiums.

I’m thinking this is just another one of this administration’s 1000s of threats per week.

[Solly Mack]

17. Onerous requirements on tourists/visitors also serve to isolate Americans even more.

The piss poor treatment of tourists and foreign visitors (worries about ICE, etc.) . As does the hostility caused by tariffs. Not to mention Trump's attacks and insults of various countries.

All serve to isolate Americans.

Something authoritarians do - isolation of the population.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Plus "the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children"

See https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220857414 . I think that Europeans might not be legally allowed to collect and pass that on to a third party like the US government without registering as holding the data on your family (and it is, frankly, a totalitarian intrusion into private life - of those who aren't even going to the USA).

[Vinca]

22. Oh, heck, why don't we just ban tourism to this country? WTF?????????

[Srkdqltr]

29. We should. That would be wonderful 😊 🙂 😀 ☺️ ❤️

[FakeNoose]

23. All because we have a thin-skinned asshole in the White House

The answer is to leave your cellphone at home and carry a burner phone when entering the USA. Don't give the authorities your "real" email address, just have a fake "spam" address made up that has no history attached to it.

[DBoon]

26. we are becoming more like the old Soviet Union every day

Now who really won the Cold War?

[Prairie Gates]

27. This is the part of the Abuser - Cult cycle where they separate you from friends and family

Making it harder or more uncomfortable for people to visit is part of the abuser cycle. This is its analogy on a national scale.

[kimbutgar]

30. Way to destroy our international tourism industry orange piggy

International tourists bring a lot of money into this country. They hate the orange piggy and now will spend their money elsewhere instead of in the hellhole country we are becoming under the stupid orange turd.

[travelingthrulife]

34. Yeah, I don't get this. It is hurting his own rich pals in the tourism industry.

Do they not see this far ahead?

[sinkingfeeling]

31. He really loves helping the travel industry go under.

[Smilo]

32. All foreign leaders

should refuse to come to America until this fascist regime is over.

[travelingthrulife]

33. No one will travel to the US. Why would they?

I am so glad I got to travel when I was young.

[Marie Marie]

35. This man (?) is fucking nuts. Bat shit crazy. Howl at the moon insane.

Someone please make it stop. He is such an embarrassment.

[electric_blue68]

36. Oh. Way to bring $$ into our country! NOT! 😑

[PatrickforB]

37. Wow...what a great idea to increase tourism to the US! Oh...wait...n/t

[EarthFirst]

38. "Of course for $4500 we can just overlook all the memes; welcome to the United States..."

[fujiyamasan]

41. I hope Florida and all the red states with national parks are happy

I have no clue why tourists would come here now.

It’s a big world with a lot of beautiful places.

You can get much better history, culture, and food, all for a better value in many other countries.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

42. 'Death knell': Internet blasts Trump for 'decimating' tourism with social media crackdown

trump is doing his best to kill tourism in the US.

The Felon-in-Chief has already cut tourism in half, now he's going to kill it altogether.

'Death knell': Internet blasts Trump for 'decimating' tourism with social media crackdown

www.rawstory.com/reax-trump-t...

— The Web Optimist (@weboptimist.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T21:23:22.130Z

https://www.rawstory.com/reax-trump-tourism/?utm_source=superhead

President Donald Trump was under fire from critics on Wednesday who accused him of killing tourism in the United States with a new policy that would require visitors to undergo social media inspections.

Under the new rule, international travelers would have to provide their social media history over the last five years, The Guardian reported.....

"If you want to ban foreign tourism, just say so. Don't demand that tourists prove they've never criticized the Dear Leader like some creepy Maoist cult. Oh, and good luck with the 2026 World Cup, or ever getting the Olympics or another international event here again," Brookings Institute fellow Jessica Riedl wrote on X.

"The Trump administration plans to require all foreign tourists to provide their social media histories from the last five years to enter the country. Yes, I said TOURISTS — not immigrants. This is insane. It will DECIMATE the U.S. tourism industry," Jon Cooper, majority leader of Suffolk County legislature and former Long Island campaign chair for Barack Obama, wrote on X.

"Yeah this is the death knell for tourism. It doesn’t matter if it passes or not. It scares people. And thats enough. People don't want to be scared on vacation," Gabrielle Ferry, founder of The Thurman Perry Foundation, wrote on X.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

43. Nothing like destroying Foreign Tourism to the USA, Donnie!

If I were from Europe, I would boycott too. Fuck that! The US does not need my money.

I am an American who desires to travel overseas to revel in their histories and cultures. That will be closed to me and others because of Donald Trump. He is killing tourism from abroad with this silly requirement. There are not enough Federal workers to scrutinize social media use of EVERYONE going back 5 years.