The Global Business Travel Association has called upon the US government to scrap a plan to require inbound US travellers to submit five years of social media identifiers through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), according to a letter the association released on Friday (6 February).

In the letter to the US Customs and Border Protection Bureau, GBTA president and CEO Suzanne Neufang said that CBP in its proposed changes to ESTA “should adopt a balanced approach that limits data collection to fields with demonstrable security utility and avoids unnecessary requirements such as social media and biometric data unless narrowly justified”.

GBTA submitted the letter in the comment period for CBP’s proposed changes to ESTA, the system that assesses eligibility to enter the United States from countries covered by the Visa Waiver Program. CBP in December published proposed changes to ESTA that would require such inbound travellers to submit five years of social media history up front, along with up to five years of prior telephone numbers and addresses, IP addresses and broadly expanded information about immediate family members.

GBTA in the letter raised concerns not only about the data proposed to be collected but also the manner of collection, as CBP proposes phasing out current ESTA website forms in favour of a fully mobile app-based protocol.

“While GBTA supports DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and CBP’s efforts to enhance border security and improve the traveller experience, we are concerned that certain expanded data collection requirements may create unintended operational and economic impacts for managed corporate travel programmes,” Neufang wrote.

GBTA said it urged “caution, because applying these changes and proposed changes to business travellers could create additional hurdles and burdens for travellers wishing to conduct face-to-face business within the United States from abroad, and for US firms and other entities seeking to bring non-US employees, partners and others to meetings they’re conducting in the US.”

Neufang in the letter specifically cited the potential of the would-be new requirement to violate the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and said the stricter entry requirement could lead to “potential losses in the billions in travel-related revenue. … Many EU business travellers may refuse to provide such information, viewing it as incompatible with GDPR and personal privacy norms, thereby forgoing a trip.”

Neufang’s letter echoes comments by US Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman, who in a December interview with BTN said the proposed changes “could be a deterrent to travel to the United States”.

Additionally, the switch to a mobile-only platform would serve as an additional barrier to business travellers whose organisations would not support such protocols, according to GBTA.

The association cited its January poll of buyers and suppliers, 64 per cent of whom indicated they thought the requirements would make business travellers less willing to travel to the US. 

“GBTA urges CBP to adopt a balanced approach that strengthens security without imposing disproportionate burdens or creating conflicts with international data protection laws,” Neufang wrote.

The comment period for the ESTA proposal is scheduled to end on Monday, 9 February.