- Jan 30, 2013
- 34,123
Well, big brother wants ALL your personal information if you dare to return from a trip abroad with your cell phone or laptop. This threatens more than your 4th Amendment rights. It's a broad, limitless sweep that chills all of them. You might want to leave all your electronic devices at home when you fly abroad after this. Do you want DHS snooping through your cellphone messages, hard drive, contacts, etc?
http://www.executivetravelmagazine....-laptops?xid=TLCHECKIN010614FederalCourtRules
01.05.14
Federal court rules on government searches of travelers' laptops
By Jim Glab FAA/Security
Do you assume that your right to privacy trumps the authority of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to seize and search the contents of your laptop when you return to the U.S. after an international trip? It’s been a contentious issue in recent years, and a New York federal judge just came down with a ruling on it.
A lawsuit challenging the government’s right to search data on travelers’ laptops, smart phones and other devices was dismissed by Federal District Judge Edward Korman in the Eastern District of New York, who ruled that CBP and the Department of Homeland Security do have the authority to conduct such investigations, even without having any reasonable suspicion that the laptop’s owner is involved in illegal or threatening activity.
The suit was filed with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union by an Islamic studies university student whose computer was held for 11 days; it was seized at the border when he took a train from Montreal to New York. He was held for several hours but not charged with a crime.
“We’re disappointed in today’s decision, which allows the government to conduct intrusive searches of Americans’ laptops and other electronics at the border without any suspicion that those devices contain evidence of wrongdoing,” said ACLU attorney Catherine Crump.
“Suspicionless searches of devices containing vast amounts of personal information cannot meet the standard set by the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Unfortunately, these searches are part of a broader pattern of aggressive government surveillance that collects information on too many innocent people, under lax standards, and without adequate oversight,” she added.
Judge Korman conceded in his ruling that “a comprehensive forensic search of a computer, whether a desktop or a laptop, involves a significant invasion of privacy,” but he added: “The invasion of privacy occasioned by such a border search, however, like the search of luggage, briefcases, and even clothing worn by a person entering the United States, is mitigated by other factors that are not present in a purely domestic context.”
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http://www.executivetravelmagazine....-laptops?xid=TLCHECKIN010614FederalCourtRules
01.05.14
Federal court rules on government searches of travelers' laptops
By Jim Glab FAA/Security
Do you assume that your right to privacy trumps the authority of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to seize and search the contents of your laptop when you return to the U.S. after an international trip? It’s been a contentious issue in recent years, and a New York federal judge just came down with a ruling on it.
A lawsuit challenging the government’s right to search data on travelers’ laptops, smart phones and other devices was dismissed by Federal District Judge Edward Korman in the Eastern District of New York, who ruled that CBP and the Department of Homeland Security do have the authority to conduct such investigations, even without having any reasonable suspicion that the laptop’s owner is involved in illegal or threatening activity.
The suit was filed with the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union by an Islamic studies university student whose computer was held for 11 days; it was seized at the border when he took a train from Montreal to New York. He was held for several hours but not charged with a crime.
“We’re disappointed in today’s decision, which allows the government to conduct intrusive searches of Americans’ laptops and other electronics at the border without any suspicion that those devices contain evidence of wrongdoing,” said ACLU attorney Catherine Crump.
“Suspicionless searches of devices containing vast amounts of personal information cannot meet the standard set by the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Unfortunately, these searches are part of a broader pattern of aggressive government surveillance that collects information on too many innocent people, under lax standards, and without adequate oversight,” she added.
Judge Korman conceded in his ruling that “a comprehensive forensic search of a computer, whether a desktop or a laptop, involves a significant invasion of privacy,” but he added: “The invasion of privacy occasioned by such a border search, however, like the search of luggage, briefcases, and even clothing worn by a person entering the United States, is mitigated by other factors that are not present in a purely domestic context.”
...
