The Trump administration’s proposal that foreign travellers
from visa waiver programme countries would have to submit five years of the social
media history to enter the United States, could be scaled back, an official has
said.
Northstar publication Travel Weekly reported the amended
approach following a speech made by Matt Davies, an executive director at US Customs
and Borders Protection’s (CBP) office of field operations, at the US Travel
Association’s IPW 2026 conference.
Instead of a blanket approach applied to anyone wishing to
enter the US, the new method would only require a traveller to provide their
social media history depending on how they respond to application questions for
their ESTA.
The international events community, travellers and civil
liberties groups were among those with concerns about the Trump administration’s
original proposals, issued in a notice by the Department of Homeland Security
in December 2025.
The proposals – which include asking visitors from countries
like the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Japan, to supply personal details,
such as names and addresses of family members, and social media handles – have caused concerns since they were first mooted.
Discussing the issue in the January episode of The Meeting
Room, James Lancaster said the proposals, as they were first put forward, could
have serious ramifications for the American and international events industry.
“Should academics, speakers and other high-profile individuals
start to be caught in the fray, it will become a ‘quantifiable risk’ for event
organisers and be a real concern for American cities hoping to host events in
the future,” he said.
Davies said ESTA requirements related to social media would
not impact the World Cup, which kicks off this Thursday (11 June) adding that a
second public comment period would start once a follow-up federal notice had
been issued. There are no changes expected to be made until later this year.
Emma has been a journalist for over 20 years, with experience working in both local and trade media. After reporting on the fast-paced world of hospitality for many years, Emma is enjoying this transition into the equally exciting world of events to cover Holly Patrick’s role on AMI and M&IT while she takes her maternity leave.
