The US Government may soon require immigrants to submit five years of social media history.

The Trump administration has announced it wants immigration agents to be able to scour peoples’ Twitter and Facebook histories.

The move is part of plans to impose “extreme vetting” of would-be immigrants to the US. It is being sold as an extension of efforts by the previous administration to more closely scrutinise social media of potential new Americans.

The government plans to require visa applicants to the US to submit five years of social media handles for specific platforms. There will also be an option to list handles for other platforms not explicitly required.

The new measures should apply to applicants for legal permanent residency, but have exemptions for diplomatic and official visas, the State Department said.

The “extreme vetting” measures stop short of requiring passwords or access to those social media accounts.