Does even China does that? Go through pics on your personal device at the border? Refuse entry over memes.
In contrast, my worst border experiences have been in the U.S. and Canada (and I've traveled to over 30 countries).
In the US, I was nearly denied entry at SFO while on a valid TN visa simply because I didn't have a business card with me. The officer also referred to my wife as a "Chinese bitch" - within earshot (this happened during the Obama years). I had to let them handle my phone a bit to verify work emails, etc. But they didn't really search through it beyond that.
In Canada, I was sent to secondary inspection, had my bags searched, and was asked to show the photos on my phone. I was questioned for over an hour and they never told me the reason for it. It felt like they suspected me of smuggling drugs because the guy kept asking me what I had for breakfast... I'm Canadian btw and don't do drugs.
FWIW in the US you usually also don't get asked more than that (not including questions on you Visa / visa exempt application) and searches are not standard procedure that everyone goes through.
And while the delay might have been the airline's fault and possibly you could have a civil claim against them for damages incurred it is still your responsibility to have a valid Visa and not overstay it and also your responsibility to pay any fines for it (which you may or may not be able to get reimbursed).
The really sad story is that the flight was canceled a second time after that drama, and we were really feeling a lot of emotions over that debacle. Suffice it to say we’ve sworn off delta for awhile.
China gives you a ten year unlimited entry visa, so it’s pretty hard to screw that up.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/20...
Where does it say that? Your source only says profiles need to be public
Moreover your description is slightly misleading because it only applies to "all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas", which notably excludes tourism visas (B-2). The visas listed all seem to be academic related, presumably because the administration wants to crack down on woke ivy league students or whatever.
> "THE US EMBASSY in Dublin is tightening its visa requirements, saying that future applicants looking to visit the country will be required to divulge “all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years” on their visa application form."
https://www.thejournal.ie/us-visa-changes-6740830-Jun2025/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44354298 (209 comments)
I got in. I was sent to some form of secondary screening, but they apparently couldn't find anybody who could speak English, so they just let me in.
Edit: I'm from a rich western country, in case it matters for anybody getting an understanding of who gets treated what way.
I of course wouldn't know if they tried to find my profiles.
I guess it's a routine part of China's paranoia. They definitely do do weird things to check if tourists are causing trouble in some way i guess. I imagine that sort of interaction alone would scare off trouble makers and it's probably effective honestly.
I’m guessing you actually did something suspicious or illegal without realizing it.
A common and simple example of this is taking pictures where it’s technically forbidden — airports, military buildings (these aren’t always obvious to visitors), religious sites, etc.
Another example would be interacting with a person of interest. This could be a Chinese person that they are watching, or a foreigner that they are keeping tabs on (e.g., embassy staff that they suspect of being an agent).
As a tourist, you probably wouldn’t notice these things or even be aware that they are a red flag.
Case in point this is only the 2nd story ever to come out about someone being detained / refused entry for content that was on their phone since Trump is president.
But we don't talk about that for whatever reason.