Citizens of nations conventionally considered low-risk US allies will soon have to provide information on their social media accounts upon arrival to the country. Under plans announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), travelers from 42 countries including Germany, Israel, Australia and Japan will be subject to the same tight scrutiny as the rest of the world has been since 2019.

Up until now, travelers from the 42 countries have enjoyed a visa waiver, meaning they can travel to the US for up to 90 days without applying for a visa, as long as they get authorization through the lighter-touch Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). The new proposals mean travelers will likely soon be obliged to share their social media history, phone numbers and email addresses as part of the travel authorization process.

The DHS said the proposal, which will reportedly come into effect on February 8, 2026 unless challenged in court beforehand, originated from US President Donald Trump's January order for arrivals to be "vetted and screened to the maximum degree." It comes on the heels of an announcement by the State Department in August that all US visa holders would be under "continuous vetting," including on social media.

How would a social media check for travelers work?

While travelers will be required to provide social media handles and phone numbers used in the last five years and email addresses in the last 10 year, on their entry forms, there will be no requirement to hand over login details.

Therefore, in theory, the US government could only see publicly available information, unless it gathers further details directly from social media companies — something that has not been stated as a possibility in the documentation. It does, however, say that biometric data and a host of personal details on applicants' family members will be added to the entry requirements when "feasible." 

The proposal is thin on details of how it will monitor social media accounts provided or how it already does. But the logistics of actively monitoring such a huge number of accounts poses a number of questions as David Ellis, an expert on digital behavior from the University of Bath, England, explained to DW.

"How are they going to manage all that data? Are they just interested in what you're saying or is it what you consume too?" said Ellis, part of the university's Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour.

"Most people don't say much online but there is obviously content that we all see online that we don't agree with, that we didn't want to see. So how do they [the US government] draw a distinction between that being a red flag, and just something that was served up and you watched for three seconds?"

What would the US government look for in tourist social media posts?

The executive order that sparked the proposal cites concerns about terrorism as a reason for increasing the spotlight on those from overseas. "The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security," it reads.

For Ellis, phrases like "hostile attitudes" are dangerously open to interpretation and perhaps could be used against people who have liked, viewed or shared something that they may not even agree with.

"You could look at someone's TikTok history and see they saw a video that was promoting extreme views, but they only watched it for a second. Is that better than if it were 30 seconds?" he asked. "Ethically, they should give justification, but they could just say 'we don't like your social media use' to make things difficult for people who want to come to the country with perfectly good intentions."

There is no specific reference to what would disallow a person from entering the US. A clue may come in the US government's catch-and-revoke policy, described by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a "one-strike policy" which aims to identify and expel foreign nationals in violation of US legislation — independent of that infraction's severity.

The program uses AI-powered surveillance tools to monitor foreign nationals in the US by monitoring their presence on social media and at protests. Law experts and rights groups have warned that the program particularly targets individuals appearing to express support for US-designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas or Hezbollah when speaking out for Palestinian rights.  

Ellis suspects similar, if not the same, technology, will be used for tourists under the new proposal.

"It'll almost have to be AI." he said. "The resources required to manually go through it is just never going to happen. They are going to have to use specific queries and things to look for. There will be a huge financial and environmental cost there, whatever is decided. I do wonder how much it's been thought through and how many 'bad people' it'll actually catch," he added.

Are there privacy concerns?

Most obviously, those who post anonymously online would forfeit their privacy on entry to the US. There are also concerns about the use of data. In the EU, users can find out what data is held on them by social media companies, but no such mechanism is available to the individual in the US.

There are also concerns that the changes will mean every visitor to the US can be tracked for as long as the government wants to. "Nearly every non-US citizen who seeks to enter or remain in the United States would be subject to indefinite social media surveillance by the US government," Caroline DeCell, a legislative adviser at Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute, told Al Jazeera.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, the press and peaceful assembly. DeCell is among those who fear the changes mean potential visitors or immigrants to the US will have to censor their speech on social media should they wish to travel or reside in the country.

There are also concerns for the millions traveling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Canada, Mexico and the United States next summer. Iran and Haiti fans are already unwelcome due to the travel ban imposed by Trump. Ronan Evain, the executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said the rights of those who travel to the games should be protected.

"Freedom of expression and the right to privacy are universal human rights. No football fan surrenders those rights just because they cross a border. This policy introduces a chilling atmosphere of surveillance ... and it must be withdrawn immediately."

Edited by: Maren Sass