A bold warning about a proposed US policy would-be entrants could face a major snag: requiring tourists to provide five years of social media history before entering the United States is considered unworkable and likely to cause widespread travel delays. That’s the view of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who says the plan would create “log jams everywhere.”
Under the new rules, individuals eligible for 90-day visa-free visits would be impacted. Mr. Martin described US President Donald Trump as a “sensible guy” who favors rapid action and less bureaucratic friction, suggesting the five-year social media requirement runs counter to that approach. He emphasized Ireland’s strong historical ties with the United States and cautioned against anything that would hinder travel between the two nations or their peoples, calling the proposal not workable.
Mr. Martin added that Ireland would strive to consult with US authorities on the issue, noting that evaluating five years of social media data for each applicant would be an enormous and impractical task, effectively inviting bottlenecks in processing.
The proposed disclosures would extend beyond social media history to a broader set of high-value data fields. Nationals from 42 visa-waiver countries—including Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia—would need to provide not only social media histories but also email addresses from the past decade, phone numbers from the last five years, biometric information, and personal details about family members.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that the proposal remains preliminary and invites public comment over the next 60 days.
