All Brits set to have social media checked when entering the US

Brits will have their social media activity from the past five years checked when entering the US, if new plans from the Trump administration go ahead.

A proposal published today (10 December) lays out what the new restrictions would be on people travelling to America who need to get an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), like Brits planning a trip to the US.

Under the proposal, it would become 'mandatory' for anyone entering the US to not only reveal the last five years of social media activity but also any and all email addresses they've used in the last 10 years along with five years of phone numbers and the personal details of family members including their names, addresses, birthdays and birthplaces.

This information will be needed for people filling in an ESTA form, and the proposal says 'the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last five years'.

At the moment Brits wanting to travel to the US for less than 90 days don't need a visa but do need an ESTA, which requires a valid passport, email address, home address and phone number, as well as emergency contact details.

You'll have to share the past five years of social media activity (Getty Images)

You might be asked for other information like a picture or ID number under the current system, but the new proposals would significantly widen the scope of information you'd have to hand over as part of the application.

There are several countries besides the UK where tourists can visit the US without a visa, and they too will be affected if this proposal is implemented. It's the sort of thing which will make travelling to the US harder, especially as the World Cup coming next year will ikely cause a surge in travel to the States.

Travel industry expert Julia Lo Bue-Said told The Independent that if the new restrictions are put in place they'll 'hit UK travel to the USA hard'.

"History shows us that when a destination becomes harder to reach, British holidaymakers simply go elsewhere," she explained.

These are just proposals so they could still be changed or scrapped, but they're a sign that the US government is increasing barriers and restrictions to travel even for tourists from countries where people don't need a visa for their visit.

"Oh crumbs, I'd better delete those JD Vance memes I shared" (Getty Images)

Other plans in the proposal suggest shutting down the ESTA website so it all has to be done through an app, with them claiming people have been uploading poor quality selfies which has 'resulted in applicants bypassing the facial comparison screening'.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) accuses people of being aware of this fault in their system and purposely getting around the screening.

Another measure proposed is using geolocation on people confirming they've left the US once their stay is over to be sure they actually have departed.

The BBC reports that these changes could mean longer waiting times for ESTA applications being approved which could give American tourism a kicking, as they highlighted a warning from World Travel & Tourism Council that of the 184 countries it studied in 2025 the US was the only one where international visitor spending was expected to fall.

It might be time to put that US trip on hold for a few years.