The Trump administration has over the past year enacted sweeping changes to America's migration system. (Reuters: Anna Rose Layden)
In short:
Australians, New Zealanders and citizens of 40 other visa-exempt countries must disclose five years' worth of social media history to visit the US, under a Trump administration plan.
The plan would bring the rules for citizens of those countries in line with those for tourist visa applicants, who have been required to provide social media data since 2019.
What's next?
The proposal is open for public comment until early January, 60 days from its date of publication in the US Federal Register.
US President Donald Trump's administration is planning to order visa-exempt foreign tourists, including Australians, to disclose their social media histories from the past five years before entering the country.
The proposal, laid out in a notice published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, would apply to visitors from Australia and 41 other countries, including New Zealand, Britain, France and Japan, who do not need a visa to enter the United States.
The requirement has been part of tourist visa applications since 2019, however, residents of visa-exempt countries have been able to apply for a waiver known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), on which the provision of social media history is optional.
Under the proposed new rules, the inclusion of five years' worth of social media data would also become a mandatory part of ESTA applications.
Applicants would also have to submit other "high-value data fields" including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.
The Trump administration has over the past year tightened curbs on entering the United States, part of a sweeping crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration.
In June, student visa applicants were directed to make their social media profiles public, so as to be more readily scrutinised by US officials assessing their application. The same rule will go into effect next Monday for H-1B skilled worker visa applicants.
A number of legal and policy experts told The Washington Post the enhanced vetting measures are the latest attempt by the Trump administration to clamp down on critical online speech.
The impending change to tourist visa requirements has also raised fears it will lead to soccer fans being turned away from the World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States along with Mexico and Canada in 2026.