Markey, Wyden Urge Trump’s CBP to Reverse Course on Proposed Rule to Collect Social Media History from Visitors to the United States

Letter Text (PDF)|CBP Response to Previous Letter (PDF)
Washington (February 13, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to Rodney S. Scott, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), expressing concern about the agency’s proposed rule that would require visitors eligible for visa-free travel to the U.S. to provide five years of social media history before entering the country and urging the CBP to reverse course on this dangerous proposal. The senators warned that such a policy would constitute a sweeping invasion of privacy and represent an unacceptable expansion of government data collection and monitoring. The Trump administration’s proposal comes amid a broader pattern of efforts by the Administration to target and intimidate foreign visitors, students, and non-U.S. residents for their speech and political views.
In the letter, the senators wrote, “CBP’s new proposed policy is an alarming privacy intrusion. Social media platforms are avenues for people to share all aspects of their lives, often including sensitive information meant only for trusted circles. By requiring travelers to disclose their personal social media information, CBP will force people who simply want to visit family in the United States, conduct business with U.S. companies, or attend events such as the upcoming World Cup to submit to sweeping digital surveillance. No doubt many Americans would be outraged if countries such as Great Britain, France, or Australia imposed a similar policy on American tourists. Ordinary U.S. visitors should not have their online activity scraped and monitored by the Trump administration’s ever-expanding surveillance apparatus. Choosing to visit the United States cannot become synonymous with relinquishing individual privacy rights.”
The senators continued, “This invasive social media monitoring will have consequences for Americans as well. Given the globalized nature of social media, Americans regularly interact with foreigners on social media, including by commenting on posts, sending direct messages, and ‘liking’ their content. As a result, the collection of visitors’ social media information will inevitably sweep up sensitive information about American citizens as well, undermining their privacy. And without any assurance that social media monitoring will be confined to visitors’ own accounts, Americans may also self-censor to reduce the risk that CBP will capture their own speech simply because they interacted with a friend or family member from a VWP country. This backdoor surveillance of the American public is unacceptable.”
In June, Senators Markey and Wydenwrote two lettersto Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem about the government’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media monitoring to determine whether an individual poses a national security risk. Secretary Noemrespondedto the letter on behalf of DHS. In her response, Secretary Noem:
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