Non-US Citizens More Likely To Have Devices Checked

The United States is considering requiring tourists to disclose their social media history from the past five years during the ESTA application process. This proposed regulation aims to enhance security measures by collecting more data from travelers, potentially starting in February. Currently, border officials can search electronic devices without a warrant, with more advanced searches needing reasonable suspicion. These officials can detain devices or copies of their contents for a limited time. Non-U.S. citizens are significantly more likely to have their devices checked at the border than U.S. citizens. Device searches, while still rare, have increased over the past decade, likely influenced by rising passenger numbers. The number of device searches has increased dramatically, almost tripling since 2016 and more than sixfold since 2015. Pandemic-related travel restrictions caused a dip in device checks during 2020 and 2021. The potential new rules would move the scrutiny process to a pre-travel stage. Concerns are rising about increased border scrutiny, reflected in the proposed regulations and some cases of tourist detentions.