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We knew this was coming, but now the clock is running. From Privacy International: "Yesterday the Trump Administration announced a proposed change in policy for travellers to the U.S. It applies to the powers of data collection by the Customs and Border Police (CBP)." "If the proposed changes are adopted after the 60-day consultation, then millions of travellers to the U.S. will be forced to use a U.S. government mobile phone app, submit their social media from the last five years and email addresses used in the last ten years, including of family members. They’re also proposing the collection of DNA." PI linked to and summarized a Federal Register entry describing the proposed requirements: -All visitors must submit ‘their social media from the last 5 years’ -ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) applications will include ‘high value data fields’, ‘when feasible’ ‘telephone numbers used in the last five years’ -‘email addresses used in the last ten years’ -‘family number telephone numbers (sic) used in the last five years’ -biometrics – face, fingerprint, DNA, and iris -business telephone numbers used in the last five years -business email addresses used in the last ten years. https://www.privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/5713/trump-administration-wants-your-dna-and-social-media The Federal Register entry says comments are encouraged and must be submitted (no later than February 9, 2026) to be assured of consideration Federal Register entry: 📄.pdf

Replies (31)

I've said it once, I'll say it again. It is absolutely IRRESPONSIBLE to organize in-person events in the US that invite participants from abroad. it is materially unsafe. film festivals, conferences, sporting events, exhibits, book tours,... Shut it down.
I would be unable to comply, even if I wanted to (and hell, I don't want to). I regularly use unique Email addresses and not all of them are documented. I guess that 5 years means 500+ email addresses. HaveIBennPwned quite often informs me, how wise that move is 🙂. Do they allow wildcards in email addresses? There are several more "no go" points in that text. And if a relative would hand out any information about me, I would consider that a breach of trust. So I won't do that either. I think any person wanting to visit the U.S. at the current state must be completely nuts.
I feel for anyone in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries, which make up ~ 10M jobs and ~ 3 percent of the nation's GDP. From the U.S. International Trade Administration (trade.gov) "Inbound international travel to the United States plays a vital role in the Nation’s economy and promotes cultural exchange and understanding. Travel and tourism is the largest single services export for the United States, accounting for 22 percent of the country’s services exports and 7 percent of all exports in 2023. The travel and tourism industry contributed $2.3 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2022 (2.97 percent of the country’s GDP), supporting 9.5 million jobs."
lmao if they wanted those types of data points on me, they'd have a lot to fish through! I've been using dummy phone numbers, emails, and identities for services for over a decade. I'm talking hundreds of numbers. Thousands of emails. Do they count bots as *my* social media? Literally gigs of plaintext to sort through. Not to mention I post encrypted blobs in places too. This is just going to impact our economy negatively. Zero forethought.
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This will 100% tank 100% of the travel to the U.S. We need to impeach the fat orange fscist as fast as we can to prevent further damage. ANY us house representative or senator also needs to be voted out in the midterms (if they are up for reelection) if they do not side with the will of the people to impeach. And anyone still in office needs to be censored for not voting to impeach.