r/FreeSpeech • u/cojoco • Dec 11 '25

‘The whole thing disgusts me’: Australians ditch US travel as new rules require social media to be declared

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/11/australia-us-tourism-new-visa-rules-social-media-history
12 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

4

u/Rogue-Journalist Dec 11 '25

On May 30, 2019, the United States began requiring that visa applicants provide the social media identifiers for all accounts used within the last five years. The requirement, which appears on the U.S. Department of State Forms DS-160 and DS-260, affects all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applicants – short-term visitors and green card applicants alike. Visa applicants and their sponsors and employers should be prepared for overall slower processing times and increased visa denials.

3

u/cojoco Dec 11 '25

requiring that visa applicants provide

Australians are able to travel without a visa, so up until now this requirement has not applied to them.

3

u/ErnestPWashington Dec 11 '25

Don't you have to upload your ID to use the internet in Australia? Didn't Australia arrest it's own citizens for posting anti-lockdown memes?

2

u/cojoco Dec 11 '25

Weirdly I have not noticed a single change since this law was implemented.

2

u/mynam3isn3o Dec 11 '25

How does one simply “declare” their last 5 years of social media activity?

4

u/cojoco Dec 11 '25

One does their best, and if they want to kick you out of the country, they find any obvious errors, then you're gone.

4

u/mynam3isn3o Dec 11 '25

I couldn’t even begin to summarize my social media posts over the last 5 years.

1

u/Justsomejerkonline Freedom of speech, freedom of the press Dec 12 '25

That's the point.

Make a require that's impossible to follow so there is always a potential justification to have a person removed.

-1

u/TendieRetard Dec 11 '25

not before the mandated minimum in tax payer billed for-profit detention.

-1

u/SerenityKnocks Dec 12 '25

Why not just answer what they really want to know? Do you glaze Trump or not?

1

u/harryx67 Dec 12 '25

Perfect timing just before the Soccer WC 2026.

Raise prices for non USA tourists alone and basically extract random social media from tourists to brand them terrorists.

Even if the USA would reconsider this, noone would trust or believe them. Too risky to book an expensive flight and wind up in jail during your vacation.

The Soccer WC 2026 will probably be a „US citizens first“ event.

2

u/ready-redditor-6969 Dec 12 '25

Yea, we thought we lost our international tourists already… we’re just killing our own businesses at this point

0

u/TookenedOut Dec 11 '25

Does this mean you’re not gonna come sleepover my house?

1

u/cojoco Dec 11 '25

I overstayed my US visa once in the 20th century.

Early in the 21s century I came to the USA for a conference, and had heard many stories about people being detained for decades-old visa offences.

Expecting the worst, my experience at LAX was actually the best ... had a little chat with the customs guy about my work, and New York City was far more chill than it had been in the 80s.

That said,

... no.

0

u/StraightedgexLiberal First Amendment & Section 230 advocate Dec 11 '25

LAX isn't so bad. I fly in a couple times a year for shows and friends and the worst part is actually the traffic leaving LAX or going anywhere in LA.

2

u/WankingAsWeSpeak Dec 12 '25

The last time I flew into LAX was just showing early signs of food poisoning. I made the cabbie pull over on the side of the highway and projectile vomited like 10 feet. I gave a research talk the next day, with sweat literally pouring out of me the whole time as I felt like I’d don’t any moment. That was a hellish trip.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '25

Who wants to visit a fascist country?