Irish travellers heading to the United States will have to reveal their social media activity from the past five years before being allowed to enter, under new plans released by the Trump administration.
The measure outlined in a notice issued yesterday in the US Federal Register would cover people from 42 nations, including Ireland, the UK, France, Australia and Japan, who currently enter America without a visa, reports RTE.
At present, visitors from those countries only need to obtain authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which already asks for a number of personal details.
Under the new proposal, submitting social media information would become a **mandatory** element of the ESTA process, reports RTE.
According to the notice, applicants would be obliged to hand over their social media records from the previous five years.
TheLiberal.ie won’t quit
Please support us with a small donation on PayPal!
They would also be required to provide additional ‘high-value data fields’ such as phone numbers from the last five years, email accounts used over the past ten years, details about close relatives and biometric data, reports RTE.
Irish Member of the European Parliament Barry Andrews described the proposal as “outrageous”
“Even the worst authoritarian states in the world do not have such an official policy,” the Fianna Fáil MEP said in a statement, reports RTE.
“If enacted, this will have serious consequences for Irish businesses seeking to invest in the US and vice-versa for the IDA seeking American foreign direct investment into Ireland, reports RTE.
“The plans would of course seriously damage the US tourist industry as millions of Europeans would no longer feel safe traveling to on an American holiday, including football fans due to attend next year’s World Cup, reports RTE.
“The EU must make clear to President Trump that these plans are unworkable and cannot be enacted, reports RTE.
People in the United States now have a 60-day window to submit comments on the plan.
The Trump administration has continued to tighten restrictions on entering the country as part of a broader clampdown on migration, reports RTE.
Along with Mexico and Canada, the United States is set to co-host the 2026 World Cup, an event expected to draw huge numbers of football supporters from around the globe, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
