Citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, who were subject to US travel bans last month, may have to provide their social media passwords if they wish to enter the US.
As iTWire reported last month, the White House was reported last month to be considering such a measure for all visitors.
If implemented, the curb on Muslims would mark an extension of a policy which is current: at the moment, visitors from the 38 countries that have a visa waiver arrangement with the US are asked to voluntarily divulge social media details when they apply for the waiver.
The extension was mooted by US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Tuesday who told Congress that it was under consideration, according to NBC.
{loadposition sam08}As iTWire has reported, in June last year, the US government announced that it would begin asking visa-waiver entrants for social media details. The policy was implemented in December.
Kelly said he was also looking at obtaining the financial records of visitors from the seven countries – Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen and Syria.
"We can follow the money, so to speak. How are you living, who's sending you money?" he said. "It applies under certain circumstances, to individuals who may be involved in on the payroll of terrorist organisations."
Kelly said the existing vetting process did not give officials much data to work with, especially in the case of visitors from Syria and Somalia where law and order has broken down and infrastructure and record-keeping has been degraded.