Checking social media accounts for five years, as well as phone numbers and addresses of relatives: The US is tightening its rules for issuing tourist visas.

The Trump administration has proposed requiring visitors from several dozen countries who are granted visa-free entry to the United States to provide additional personal information before entering the country, reports CBS News.

Tourists will be required to provide access to their social media activity history for the past five years, the Department of Homeland Security announced this week.

Citizens of the 42 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program can generally travel to the United States for up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes without having to apply for a visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate—a process that can take months or even years.

On the subject: The Trump administration has canceled 85,000 visas this year, double the 2024 target.

The list of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program includes many European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, as well as some US allies around the world, including Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

Although citizens of these countries generally do not require visas to travel to the United States, they are still required to apply online through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before entering the country. This system is designed to verify applicants' eligibility for visa-free entry to the United States and to assess whether they pose a security threat.

The Trump administration has proposed reforming the ESTA system, primarily by making it accessible only through mobile devices. The plan requires applicants to provide additional information about themselves and their relatives, according to a notice published in the Federal Regulations Journal by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of DHS.

The notice states that CBP plans to require travelers under the Visa Waiver Program to provide a history of their social media activity for the past five years, email addresses used for the past ten years, and personal information about immediate family members, including phone numbers and addresses of residence. Providing a social media history for the past five years will be mandatory.

CBP said the changes, which are pending review by the White House Budget Office, are intended to implement an executive order President Trump issued this year with the stated goal of denying entry to aliens who may pose a threat to national security or public safety.

However, critics of the proposed changes said they could discourage potential travelers and negatively impact tourism, especially given that the United States, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer.

Over the past year, the Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to strengthen scrutiny and enforcement of the US immigration system.

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While the State Department has tightened its vetting of visa applicants abroad, some of the changes affect people already in the United States who are applying for legal stay in the country through asylum, green cards, or U.S. citizenship.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has instructed employees to review the social media histories of several categories of immigrants, including views and actions deemed "anti-American." It has instructed judges to more thoroughly vet the "bona fides" of legal immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship.

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