Trump won’t shield US teens on social media but wants to scroll through yours

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Editorial

December 12, 2025 — 5.42pm

US President Donald Trump’s plan to demand foreign tourists’ social media records and family histories to foil terrorists and criminals is complete overreach.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency will require tourists to reveal five years’ social media activity, telephone numbers used over the same period and email addresses used in the past decade as well as face, fingerprint, DNA and iris biometrics. It would also want the names, addresses, birthdates and birthplaces of family members, including children.

Now, let me explain why this is necessary ...

The mandatory disclosures would apply to Australia and 41 other countries that participate in the visa waiver program that allows 90-day stays without having to apply for a visa.

Either at home or abroad, Trump regularly beats up on many foreigners and his ugly recent racist and jingoistic attacks on Africans, Europeans and central and south Americans, coupled with the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, ratcheting up pressure on the Maduro regime and his threats to do the same to neighbouring Colombia and its president, Gustavo Petro, add to the turmoil he has created worldwide.

However, his visa plan is already shaping as an own goal, with concerns that it could throw a spanner into the World Cup. The US is co-hosting the event with Canada and Mexico next year and FIFA expects millions of fans to visit, many from nations racially insulted by the president.

The same day that he imposed the “enhanced vetting” of foreigners, the president’s talent for the non sequitur saw him unveil a so-called Trump Gold Card for immigrants seeking residency, costing $US1 million for individuals, and $US2 million for corporations’ employees.

But for those unable to pay at the door, Trump’s America is already turning away visitors. His on and off again tariff threats, inconsistent behaviour towards friends and foes and lackadaisical attitude towards Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of minors while advocating deportation of immigrants over the safety of children are among transgressions causing many to rethink travel.

According to the Herald’s North America correspondent, Michael Koziol, the number of tourists visiting the US this year has dropped by 8.2 per cent. More than 1 million Australians travelled to the US in 2024, with most using the visa waiver program. From January to October this year, 810,000 Australians entered the US – down 5.6 per cent. For tourist visas, the number is down 6.4 per cent.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the US had a right to set the rules, but given Trump proposed to slug Norfolk Island with a 29 per cent tariff last April, Australians could not be blamed for wondering about US customs’ competence to vet their private lives as a condition of entry.

Trump said the restrictions would ensure visitors “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles”.

But they make a mockery of the values of inclusivity, diversity and freedom that made the US the land of the free. From an Australian point of view, it further undermines confidence in dealing with his administration.