Oppose Mandatory Social Media Disclosure for Foreign Visitors

I am writing to urge you to oppose the Customs and Border Protection proposal requiring all foreign tourists to provide five years of social media histories to enter the United States. This regulation, currently in its 60-day public comment period, represents a dangerous expansion of government surveillance that threatens fundamental free speech principles. Requiring five years of social media data from visitors from visa-waiver countries like the United Kingdom and Germany will create a chilling effect on free expression. People worldwide will self-censor their online speech knowing that their posts, likes, and comments could be scrutinized by U.S. authorities years later. This transforms social media from a platform for open dialogue into a permanent record subject to government review, fundamentally altering how people communicate online. This proposal follows a troubling pattern. In June, the State Department required certain visa applicants to make their social media profiles public, which the Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized as unprecedented surveillance intended to suppress foreign students' social media activity. Last week, this online presence review expanded to H-1B applicants and their dependents. Since January, the State Department has sought to revoke visas for people who protested about the war in Gaza. These actions collectively signal a move toward thought policing that mirrors authoritarian regimes like Russia. The timing is particularly concerning with FIFA World Cup events scheduled in the U.S. next year. This policy will discourage international visitors and damage our tourism economy while doing nothing to enhance legitimate security. Collecting email addresses, phone numbers, and family member information alongside social media histories creates massive databases ripe for abuse. I urge you to publicly oppose this regulation during the comment period and work to prevent its implementation. The government should not condition entry to our country on surrendering years of personal expression and communication. This is incompatible with American values and sets a dangerous precedent for government overreach.