Politics US politics

In ‘Free Speech’ news, the US plans to force tourists to hand over five years of social media posts before they’re allowed in – 27 tweets that definitely wouldn’t get through customs

Oonagh Keating. Updated December 12th, 2025

You’re probably aware that the American Right has been running a campaign to smear the UK with accusations of the end of freedom of speech, ably assisted by the likes of Liz Truss and Nigel Farage.

In US hypocrisy news, the government plans to introduce draconian rules for anyone entering the country – even tourists. A post shared on the official journal of the US Government revealed plans for compulsory access to five years’ worth of travellers’ social media posts.

Mandatory Social Media: In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application. The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years.

Handing over access to five years of social media isn’t the only authoritarian policy.

In fact, vetting of people’s social media to a slightly lesser extent is already happening.

There’s a 60-day public comment period before the proposals move further. They should start by reading these public comments.

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