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Border Agents Can Search Phones Freely Under New Circuit Court Ruling

posted by martyb on Friday February 12 2021, @06:20PM   
from the When's-the-last-time-you-crossed-the-border-with-a-half-dozen-filing-cabinets? dept.

MrPlow wrote in with a submission for Fnord666.

It reverses a landmark victory for privacy advocates.

Border Agents Can Search Phones Freely Under New Circuit Court Ruling - The Verge:

A US appeals court has ruled that Customs and Border Protection agents can conduct in-depth searches of phones and laptops, overturning an earlier legal victory for civil liberties groups. First Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch declared that both basic and "advanced" searches, which include reviewing and copying data without a warrant, fall within "permissible constitutional grounds" at the American border.

Lynch ruled against a group of US citizens and residents objecting to invasive searches of their electronic devices.

[...] A district court declared that CBP searches violated the Fourth Amendment by not requiring "reasonable suspicion" that the devices contained contraband. Lynch disagreed. "Electronic device searches do not fit neatly into other categories of property searches, but the bottom line is that basic border searches of electronic devices do not involve an intrusive search of a person," she wrote. That lowers the bar for conducting them at the border, where the government's interest in security is "at its zenith."

Appeals courts have issued conflicting opinions on how electronic devices fall under the "border search exception," a rule allowing warrantless searches that might otherwise be unconstitutional. [...] The exception is primarily intended for finding contraband or unauthorized entrants, but it applies to federal agents working within 100 miles of the US border — an area that covers most metropolitan areas.

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Original Submission

• Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Friday February 12 2021, @06:43PM (3 children)

  by DannyB (5839) on Friday February 12 2021, @06:43PM (#1112036) Journal

  Using a burner phone for traveling is itself suspicious.

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  Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+1
  Informative=1, Disagree=1, Total=2
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		3

• Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg (Score: 2, Touché) by fustakrakich on Friday February 12 2021, @06:56PM (2 children)

  by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday February 12 2021, @06:56PM (#1112046) Journal

  You know how a tabletop picture frame always comes with a generic picture in it already? Just fill the phone with the same garbage to make it look "personal". Put an email account into it and go shopping

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  La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..

  Parent

  • Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 12 2021, @08:21PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 12 2021, @08:21PM (#1112088)

    Just don't use MohammadAlJihadi@gmail.com

    Parent

  • Re:If that's the way they want to play it, no bigg (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 13 2021, @02:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 13 2021, @02:44AM (#1112194)

    > Put an email account into it and go shopping

    But, make sure what you go shopping for is innocent stuff like kitchen wares.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/new-york-police-terrorism-pressure-cooker [theguardian.com]

    Parent