The Trump administration has previously required foreign nationals to make their social media accounts public if they are applying for student visas or H1B visas for skilled workers - the latter of which now also entail a much higher fee.
A senior state department official said of the student visa policy: "It is an expectation from American citizens that their government will make every effort to make our country safer, and that is exactly what the Trump Administration is doing every single day."
Officers were instructed to screen for those "who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence".
As part of the administration's broader effort to toughen borders, officials recently said an existing travel ban - affecting 19 countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean - could soon be expanded.
That move was announced in the wake of a shooting attack on two National Guard members in Washington DC, in which an Afghan man has been named as the suspect.
The new proposal regarding ESTA data collection for tourists invites views from the public for 60 days.
Sophia Cope, of digital rights organisation the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticised the plan, telling the New York Times that it could "exacerbate civil liberties harms".
Meanwhile, immigration law practice Fragomen suggested there could be practical impacts as applicants could face longer waits for ESTA approvals.
Experts have previously suggested that the changes to travel policies introduced under Trump have had an impact on the American tourism industry.
Earlier this year, the World Travel & Tourism Council said the US was the only one of 184 economies that it analysed that was expected to see a decline in international visitor spending in 2025.
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