Brits would refuse Trump plans for social media password checks at US border

Brits would refuse Trump plans for social media password checks at US border

Research by Kayak says “extreme vetting” could lead to Brits boycotting the States Continue reading

More than half of Brits say they would not comply with proposals by the US authorities to give passwords for social media accounts and phone contacts when entering America.

Research by Kayak suggests 51% of British visitors to the States would simply refuse to comply with the rules at border checks, mooted by the the Trump administration, which could also include them being asked to disclose their political ideologies.

An additional 29% said they would do so if required, but would “not feel comfortable”. And 63% of people said the new rules would be an “invasion of their privacy”.

According to Kayak, 27% of Brits would refuse to do declare their politics and 48% would feel uncomfortable about doing so.

The travel search engine says that “extreme vetting” could have a serious impact on the “already-beleaguered US tourism industry”.

Nearly three-quarters of Brits (72%) that it asked said that if the rules came into force they would be less likely to visit the US – of these, 37% said they would “definitely not go”.

Since Trump came into office, searches on Kayak for flights to Tampa are down 58%, Orlando is down 58%, Fort Lauderdale is down 57% and Miami is down 52% when compared to last year. Searches for San Diego are down 43%, Las Vegas is down 36% and Los Angeles is down 32%.

 

Kayak travel expert Suzanne Perry said: “The new presidency and the border control rules he has already introduced have had a very negative impact on demand for travel to the US. Formerly one of Brits’ favourite destinations, interest is hugely down in just one year.

“As the research shows, introducing further rules such as requiring visitors to hand over social media passwords would have a strong, additional impact on Brits’ likelihood to visit the country and have further negative consequences for the US tourism industry as a whole.”