FIFA World Cup 2026 travel fears grow over Trump's proposed five-year social media checks

The United States is planning a travel ban ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 that would result tourists from 42 visa-waiver countries to submit five years of their social media history before entering U.S.

The move, pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has sparked a furious fan backlash online, ahead of the extravaganza of the global sports extravaganza.

Travelers are voicing fears the rule will bog down entry, causing massive queues at the airports and discouraging people from traveling at all.

The proposal would require every tourist to list every social media account they used in the last five years, along with old phone numbers, past email addresses, and multiple biometric details, including face, fingerprints, and DNA. Officials defend the measure as necessary to scan “anti-American views” pre-entry.

The policy was established via an executive order signed by Donald Trump on his first day in the Oval Office.

The United States is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 with Canada and Mexico. FIFA expects to draw millions of fans to attend matches, with millions more traveling across borders during the mega-spectacle.

Netizens react

Netizens are sharing their reactions to the proposed social media scrutiny rule.

One user commented on X (formerly Twitter), “The Trump administration is trying to make it a requirement that Foreign tourists coming to the World Cup submit at least five years of their social media data!

This will end up causing the numbers to dwindle because people from other countries already don’t trust him or The U.S.”

“The US checking people’s social media before letting them into the country is just wild. Imagine being told ‘sorry, you can’t go see your country play in the World Cup because you called the president of the United States a buffoon on social media in December last year,’” commented another.

For now, the plan is open for public feedback, but many expect the Trump administration to push forward.

If the rule is implemented, this could redefine international travel norms and jeopardize the viability of future large-scale global events.

The rule explains that for anyone travelling from countries that use the ESTA system, including the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, and many others, the visitors from these countries normally enter the U.S. without a visa.