The Trump administration is proposing to ask visitors from several dozen nations that enjoy visa-free travel to the U.S. to submit additional personal information before entering the country, including five years of their social media history, the Department of Homeland Security said in a notice this week.

Citizens of 42 countries enrolled in the visa waiver program can generally come to the U.S. for up to 90 days for tourism or business travel, without needing to apply for a visa at an American embassy or consulate, a process that can take months or even years.

The list of countries in the visa waiver program includes many European nations like the United Kingdom, Germany and France, as well as some U.S. allies around the world, including Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

    • Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk
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      6 days ago

      No, you apply for an ESTA weeks/months beforehand.

      There is currently an optional box to provide social media info.

      No doubt anything you provide is reviewed by CBP in the weeks leading up to your trip.

      How the fuck they’d be able to find out if you have an account if you don’t provide anything I’m not sure. Or if you don’t provide them with burner email addresses.

      I suspect the tech companies will be complicit.

      • NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk
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        5 days ago

        I had assumed that data trawling being what it is, there’s probably a clear record of all social media accounts without you providing anything. Hell, maybe even pre assessment by AI of your profile like the Chinese social rating based on what you’ve wrote, read and even lingered over without clicking on

        • Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk
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          5 days ago

          Its fucking diabolical if that ends up being true.

          I get when it might be useful for actual visa applicants wanting to live and work there, but the prospect of being barred from going to Disneyland because I laughed at a clip of his tiny mushroom dick in an episode of South Park is just bullshit.

          All it means is I’ll be not returning to America until 2029 at the earliest. Ive always wanted to visit Canada tbh

    • ramielrowe@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      Honestly, I suspect this is a sneaky way to get CBP access to what ever data sharing shit the social media companies have with the rest of the spooks. Simply by attempting to enter the US someone “agrees” to an automatic search of their social data.

      • ramielrowe@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        Yea, after reading the article, this is an overall of the electronic application process that needs to happen before entry. And it’ll include not just social media handles, but also email addresses. Seems reasonably easy for a “bad guy” to skirt.