Plans from the United States to force incoming visitors to disclose their social media histories have been given a comprehensive thumbs down by the business travel community.
Research showed that a staggering 85% of corporate travel professionals oppose the proposal from Donald Trump’s White House, with just 2.5% think the rule should be allowed. That figure rises to 3.34% if it applies solely to tourists.
Unsurprisingly, any crackdown would likely have a significant impact on corporate travel to the US.
If the Trump administration does succeed in bringing the proposal into law, 41.18% of corporates said they would send fewer travellers to the country, while 16.81% would rely more on video conferencing. Only 18.49% of respondents said there would be no impact on their travel programmes.
The findings from a survey by the Business Travel Show Europe highlight growing concern around data privacy and the administrative burden such a requirement could create for global mobility teams.
Last December, Trump’s administration floated the idea that visitors from the 42 nations using the current ESTA scheme would have to disclose their social media history dating back five years. The idea is still out for public consultation.
