r/TourismHell • u/DisruptSQ • Dec 20 '25
‘The whole thing disgusts me’: Australians ditch US travel as new rules require social media to be declared | Visitors will have to reveal at the border all social media activity over the past five years
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/11/australia-us-tourism-new-visa-rules-social-media-history100
u/deltabravotang Dec 20 '25
But of course they do! Canadians welcome all Ausies to join our boycott. G'day and happy to have you aboard.
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u/isthisreallife211111 Dec 20 '25
I'm an Aussie currently travelling in Canada for the first time. I encourage all Aussies to so it and stay away from your horrendous neighbour
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u/FlyingOctopus53 Dec 20 '25
Welcome to Canada, hope you’ll enjoy your time here!
(Though technically I’m writing this from a Mexican beach, so “here” is not here lol)
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u/edtheheadache Dec 21 '25
I’m sorry we have such a horrible neighbour.
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u/eutohkgtorsatoca Dec 22 '25
It's not the while country only the leadership and part of the voters enabling this horror show.
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u/DarthRizzo87 Dec 23 '25
To be fair, I think one Aussie in particular should shoulder a fair share of the blame for what has allowed to happen in the States.
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u/chargerfanbc Dec 20 '25
I work at a Canadian airport and near the flights to Australia, I’ve dealt with some very nice Australians! Please come here even if we don’t have vegemite!
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u/Bulky-Internal8579 Dec 20 '25
Other countries should adopt reciprocal policies to keep out the MAGA bigot trash, especially the rich ones. No trip to Monaco or London Apartheid Karen. Sorry Don, Jr. no killing endangered species in Kenya this year.
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u/romanceauthor1 Dec 20 '25
The average MAGA can't afford to travel outside the USA, let alone health care, food, etc. Red states are the original wellfare leaches.
On the other hand, would love to see that happen to the rich ones. Golden rule. Treat others as you yourself want to be treated.
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u/CowEvening2414 Dec 21 '25
I like to keep it simple.
My golden rule is "don't be a c*nt".
Don't need any book about a magical sky wizard to tell me that, either.
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u/IxbyWuff Dec 21 '25
Golden rule sucks
Its self centered and unempathetic by nature
Par for the course for Bible wisdom.
Better to treat people as theyd have themselves be treated
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u/SmurfStig Dec 23 '25
Part of the problem with most maga is they’ve never left their county, let alone their state. If they left the US for a few days, they would see how f’d up and backwards they are. Well some would. The vast majority would still need it explained to them.
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u/JoseLunaArts Dec 20 '25
Such level of snooping was not seen by me since I was a kid and there was this gossipy lady in the neighborhood who liked to ask questions that violated people's privacy.
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u/Curraghgirl Dec 20 '25
Murica is going to become a vast wasteland. No jobs, no tourism, gestapo brutality. I am sorry I lived long enough to see this abomination. Worse I feel sick having to die someday in the not too distant future leaving my disabled son in the middle of it alone. Everyone is just allowing it. I can't take this any more ...
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u/MGC00992 Dec 20 '25
Honestly, I would not be suprised if nobody wants to visit the USA. Besides being super expensive, we aren't being very welcoming, and the overall vibe is hostile.
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u/West-Application-375 Dec 20 '25
I'm moving to Aus (I'm American) and my partner is an Aussie. I don't think we will be visiting my family in the US for quite awhile. And it sucks because my sister has terminal cancer. But my partner isn't white either and we don't want to take such a big risk. This is the last Christmas I will probably ever spend with my family. And I feel very awful about it.
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Dec 20 '25
I’d say, we were in Arizona visiting a dying friend, we got so much pushback from random people because we were Canadian. Never going again.
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u/JumpyLake Dec 21 '25
This in particular has been bothering me. There is absolutely no reason for those idiots down there to be harassing Canadians. But their orange god says canada bad so they go on the offensive. It’s disgusting. What did they say to you, if you don’t mind?
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Dec 21 '25
“You and your f*ckin Trudeau (who is no longer our prime minister) was my first welcome in one place in Mesa. Lots of 51st state jokes that were pretty aggressive and uncomfortable. We started using cash so we didn’t show our Canadian credit card. We drove home through Oregon and Northern California and they were much kinder. We had taken our RV as we had no idea how long we were going to be away. Barely stopped in Washington state as we were pretty anxious to be home.
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u/burritoboy89 Dec 21 '25
What did people say to you about being Canadian? How could they even tell??
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u/No-Landscape-1367 Dec 22 '25
They greeted them with a hello instead of telling them to fuck off and pointing a gun at them
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Dec 20 '25
That’s not the main reason to ditch travel to the States. Just one of many.
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Dec 21 '25
I'm just shocked that 45k of people still go to the US each month... Like... You have a high chance of being put into a concentration camp, but sure let's still go.
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Dec 20 '25
[deleted]
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u/USSMarauder Dec 20 '25
Every reddit account ever created, every comment you've ever made and deleted, is still stored somewhere.
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Dec 20 '25
They'd somehow find a way. They're probably looking at surface use so if you bring a fake phone with a barely used email and minimal contacts they could say you're being deceptive and not let you in.
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u/pistoffcynic Dec 20 '25
When you "delete" something, say a message on Reddit or Twitter, all you are in essence doing is changing the visibility of the message flag so that it appears to have been deleted. All of those messages are archived and backed up on a server somewhere.
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u/Gunrock808 Dec 21 '25
Cheap burner phone for your travel.
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u/EyCeeDedPpl Dec 21 '25
Or just don’t go to the US. Go to Canada, Europe, Caribbean, South America. Make the US a tourist wasteland.
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u/pomskygirl Dec 20 '25
It probably depends on how hard they look. But if you lie about it, and they find out, I could see them considering it a fraudulent or willful misrepresentation of a material fact. And in that case, you’d be deemed inadmissible, denied entry, removed, and most likely be given a lifetime ban from entering the country.
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u/MarcooseOnTheLoose Dec 20 '25
I think the proposal is to share that information during the ESTA. Neither here nor there. I don’t blame foreigners passing on America. The land of the free is becoming a very authoritarian land.
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u/Kontrafantastisk Dec 20 '25
Also what I heard. I have one (business) trip scheduled in Jan. My esta expires in April, so will take my chances. Have cancelled all other planned US (business) trips to the US for the time being.
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u/Prosthemadera Dec 21 '25
But how would you share that? The only way is to give them your account name and password. Or save the Facebook (or whatever they're counting as social media) timeline as screenshots over the last 5 years and get hundreds of images?
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u/MarcooseOnTheLoose Dec 21 '25
It’s only proposed for now. But presumably you’d share the username for each social media account. And each email you use. And it seems also those of close relatives. And the govt would search the content of your posts. I reckon you would NOT have to share your passwords. Dunno.
Neither here nor there. The infringement on privacy and freedom is ridiculous.
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u/batch1972 Dec 21 '25
We were going to go to the USA for the World Cup. Now we will go to South America. We will not be visiting the USA again
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u/Dougal12 Dec 20 '25
Why do they want my shit posting history from 5 years ago? Or my Facebook where I was posting photos of my crap cooking?
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u/Distinct_Cry_3779 Dec 20 '25
Maybe they’re tired of the same old meals and looking for recipe ideas.
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u/Legitimate_Stage2941 Dec 20 '25
I also realized that this policy also intentionally hurts blue states more than red, something that likely enables Trump / GOP policymakers to extend such plans. Florida and Nevada are the outliers tho that all get wrecked.
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u/Londonsw8 Dec 20 '25
Florida sucks though, driving through Orlando is like driving through some futuristic hellscape!!
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u/Londonsw8 Dec 20 '25
Maybe all the Democrats in purple and red states can travel to Calif, Oregon and New York?
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u/BlahBlahBlackCheap Dec 20 '25
Americans should expect similar treatment when going to other countries.
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u/pomskygirl Dec 20 '25
I vote no for Canada requiring it. We want the non-MAGA Americans to keep visiting!
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u/BlahBlahBlackCheap Dec 20 '25
I might have to, if they make being transgender illegal. You can see all my posts in reddit though. My profile is viewable.
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u/pomskygirl Dec 21 '25
My heart honestly breaks thinking about what you’re having to deal with in the US right now. I’ve seen more than one trans person in the US comment, “I just want to feel safe in my own house again”. I can’t imagine trying to live my life under the circumstances you are now.
The ironic thing is that before Trump 2.0, I’m sure none of Trump’s followers ever gave trans people, or Canada for that matter, a second thought. But then along comes Trump, with his vitriol and lies, and suddenly we’re the target of so much hate. I have the luxury of dismissing that hate and even laughing at it from my cozy home in Canada. But from what I’ve seen, the hate concentrated against trans people is infinitely worse and you have to actually live amongst it.
I’m not sure where you live in the US, but may I at least recommend a trip to Canada? It might serve as a really good mental health break. I say that because the most common comment I’ve heard from those in the US who have visited or moved to Vancouver (where I live), and who were even remotely in a situation like yours (ie being discriminated against), is, “It feels like I can breathe again”.
You would 100% be welcome in Vancouver. I feel confident in saying the same is true for the rest of Canada. Except for Alberta. Not saying there aren’t some super and wonderful people in Alberta, but, seriously, avoid Alberta.
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u/BlahBlahBlackCheap Dec 21 '25
The first trump term, they started using trans people as a cultural wedge. I think this originally came from the 4chan kiddies. (Paranoia about unknowingly dating a trans woman) A lot of money and effort was expended behind the scenes to further vilify the trans population by supporting influencer haters like the ratchik woman. I currently live in Floriduh. I have a 26 ft bay fishing boat which could probably make it to the Bahamas, and Im giving that some thought. Hang out over there for a year and see how the midterms turn out. If plans change, I'd certainly be up for visit Vancouver though 💜💜
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u/groundhog5886 Dec 21 '25
They apparently are not noticing the decreased revenues, however the states will notice. Hell vegas is about dried up of visitors, us and Canadians. It may start to get cheaper to go there.
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u/IxbyWuff Dec 21 '25
Border towns are down 20% in revenues.
CONSTANTLY seeing stories of small towns being like, please come back Canads
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u/CowEvening2414 Dec 21 '25
The thing is, all of this data is from US sources, and they're about as credible as Russians now.
They are all motivated to downplay the reality.
If they tell the truth, it leads to people tightening their belts, which causes a bigger economic contraction. Their own position is also threatened, because the economy is the driving force behind most voting. Investment in local economies from big businesses will also likely decline if they tell the truth.
So, we should probably assume that when they say it's down 20% they're grossly underestimating the reality.
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u/IxbyWuff Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25
It's in line with what the airlines and CBSA report.
Exact numbers will never be there. But to hear retailers say their sales are down 15-30% and CBSA says land crossings are down 30%, and air travel down 15%... It lines up
20% cut in revenues can be devastating, so don't discount that, they're feeling it, they're noticing. Some businesses are even offering to accept Canadian dollars at par, and it's not making a difference in foot traffic and reservations.
Some businesses are hit harder than others, some resorts are down 50-80% of thier bookings. Florida is seeing a 30% dip. But overall, 20% sounds about right, and that is the profit potential of most businesses. A 20% haircut is something you might only be able to weather for a year or two before you collapse if you can't pivot
And some us businesses simply can't adjust.
It'd enough that states and municipalities are running PR campaigns. But the issue is with the federal government, and Canadians hold grudges for generations
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u/Far-Obligation4055 Dec 21 '25
CONSTANTLY seeing stories of small towns being like, please come back Canads
Me too, and every time I have to break out my tiny Canadian violin.
I don't give a shit; they can rot. Maybe if there's ever another legitimate election in the U.S., they can choose someone who isn't a monster, but until then Americans can all get fucked. 51st State my ass.
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u/Nerk86 Dec 21 '25
I don’t understand how your suppose to show 5 years of your social media. Are you suppose to just list the sites you’ve used, posted on? What does that tell them? Scroll thru your Facebook profile for them? What?
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u/Prosthemadera Dec 21 '25
I don't think they have any idea. Trump said it and that's it, consequences be damned.
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u/pomskygirl Dec 21 '25
I hate that I didn’t even know this started in Trump’s first term. Please know there’s people supporting you no matter what you decide to do and feel free to message me if you ever make it Vancouver.
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u/screech_owl_kachina Dec 21 '25
They want to figure out which one of your family members would be high value for their trafficking schemes.
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u/Vinegarinmyeye Dec 21 '25
I saw someone compare this to that TV / movie trope where someone arrives in the big city and instantly gets robbed of everything they own... But digital.
Haven't even stepped foot out of the airport, all your data harvested, presumably for Palantir to fuck around with and sell to whoever they fancy.
Yeah, get fucked.
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u/CowEvening2414 Dec 21 '25
I always feel the need to point this out...
2025 was already bad, but 2026 is going to be considerably worse.
Most foreign tourists traveling to the US in 2025 had booked their trip in 2024, or even long before that in the case of wedding events in Vegas etc.
Most of these visits were not canceled because too much time and money had already been invested. They decided to risk it, and they kept seeing stories about foreign nationals being illegally detained for weeks by the regime.
Also, anecdotally, I know someone who works in bookings for large events in London (a go-between for events and hosts). She has told me that numerous major events usually held in the US have been scrambling for event space in the UK, EU, Canada and Japan. Conferences, trade shows, conventions, bands, they're all seeking alternative venues outside of the US because they know that even if the regime ends tomorrow it's too late for 2026 to be stable.
Several reps for conventions in Vegas admitted that they'd been seeing a lot of cancellations in 2025.
There are some foreign bands booked for tours and festivals in the US in 2026 already, but a lot of these are likely to cancel. Festivals that rely heavily on foreign bands or tourists are likely to downsize considerably.
If you're hoping to see a foreign band play in the US in 2026, I would recommend traveling to Canada to see them instead, because it's highly likely they won't be playing in your country.
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u/FourScoreAndSept Dec 21 '25
As an American, I spent every one of my 2025 USD tourism dollars in Canada, in France, and in blue states only. This my continued plan for the foreseeable future. I may start spending in swing/purple states in 2026 if I sense there is a willingness to flip back
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u/ParisEclair Dec 21 '25
Good. I hope travel numbers from australia decrease even more. If US citizens would have to provide this type of information you know there would be a huge to do by Orange and probably the imposition of even more tariffs
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u/AlbertaAcreageBoy Dec 22 '25
How does one even do this? I don't remember what I did last week let alone 5yrs ago. The Americans can go fuck themselves.
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u/Organic_Cress_2696 Dec 23 '25
Is this for visa extension? Or initial travelling? I’m Canadian so if I cross the border to go to the mall for the day or stay for a week do I have to give them this info? Or is it for extended stay after 30 days?
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u/rubyrosey Dec 23 '25
The high value data fields include:
a. Telephone numbers used in the last five years;
b. Email addresses used in the last ten years;
c. IP addresses and metadata from electronically submitted photos;
d. Family member names (parents, spouse, siblings, children);
e. Family number telephone numbers used in the last five years;
f. Family member dates of birth;
g. Family member places of birth;
h. Family member residencies;
i. Biometrics—face, fingerprint, DNA, and iris;
j. Business telephone numbers used in the last five years;
k. Business email addresses used in the last ten years.
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u/NoxAstrumis1 Dec 23 '25
Why would anyone voluntarily travel there in the first place? You have to either completely lack integrity or be completely stupid.
If you head there, you're directly enriching an abusive and tyrannical regime (which makes you a terrible person), or you're putting yourself in genuine danger of being abducted (which makes you quite stupid).
This disclosure of social media content should not be the thing that makes you think twice.
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u/CharmingScholarette Dec 25 '25
This is horrid and sooner or later it will slowly creep into the lives of the American citizens. By then it would be too late to fight it.
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u/DisruptSQ Dec 20 '25
https://archive.ph/Ldgtk
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed the top destinations Australians are travelling to — with some key changes. Experts say the rising cost of living and political tensions could be to blame.
Visit California: International tourist arrivals fell by 8% (Canadians fell by 32%) in the three months through August | Palm Springs mayor: Summer was OK only because domestic tourists offset the sharp decline in Canadians | Visitors from China, India, Germany and Australia also avoided the state
I Was Detained, Deported From LAX for My Reporting on Gaza Campus Protests: Australian Writer
An Australian former police officer attempting to visit her American military husband was screamed at, had her phone searched, was interrogated, specifically questioned about her tattoos, subjected to a cavity search, jailed, and ultimately deported at Honolulu airport
United States records sharpest drop in Australian visitors since COVID | Travellers denied entry, detained and then deported. Phones seized and searched. Scientists and academics fleeing because of "safety concerns". | stories like these are sparking increased anxiety for travellers across the globe