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Laptops Can Be Searched At the Border
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Apr 22, 2008 01:51 PM
from the don't-need-no-stinkin'-suspicion dept.
from the don't-need-no-stinkin'-suspicion dept.
Nothing to Declare notes that a California appeals court has unanimously upheld a ruling that border security officers at international airports can search personal computers without requiring any specific evidence of criminal activity. The appeal was made by US resident Michael Timothy Arnold, charged with child pornography offenses after an airport search of his notebook PC in 2005. Might want to think hard about what's on your laptop if you're going to be passing through a US international airport.
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An anonymous reader writes "If you're planning on traveling internationally with a laptop, consider the following: District Court Overturns Magistrate Judge in Fifth Amendment Encryption Case. Laptop searches at the border have been discussed many times previously. This is the case where a man entered the country allegedly carrying pornographic material in an encrypted file on his laptop. He initially cooperated with border agents during the search of the laptop then later decided not to cooperate citing the Fifth Amendment. Last year a magistrate judge ruled that compelling the man to enter his password would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Now in a narrow ruling, US District Judge William K. Sessions III said the man had waived his right against self-incrimination when he initially cooperated with border agents."
sohp notes that "the order is not that he produce the key — just that he provide an unencrypted copy."
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I Wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
If it'd been a violation of rights search where they searched and you sued just for that with no criminal conviction.
The sad part, is this sets a president if it is allowed to stand, and whittles away at everything else.
Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
FTFA: Is searching the files on a laptop when entering the country any different from searching paper files in a briefcase at the border?
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Interesting)
Well actually, yeah. Depending on how meticulous the person is, it can have any or all of these things:
-Proprietary or confidential information for any company you've ever worked for (regardless of whether or not it was a good idea to have saved that)
-Elaborate summary of your fantasies (porn folder)
-Logs of all personal correspondence or hobbies you've stored electronically (newsletters you've received or published, emails, instant messages, message board subscribed to, etc)
-Financial information (tax forms, bank account records)
-History of anything you've purchased online (from email, or logging into sites via the cookie on your machine)
-Political, cultural, or sexual leanings (via browser bookmarks)
That's alot of stuff to be available on demand, huh? What about making an image of the hard drive for later perusal? It's not like you have to worry about that kind of thing being lost/stolen/hacked form wherever warehouse it gets dumped at.
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Informative)
First, you mean precedent. The President is the guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. "Precedent" is what judges use to decide cases.
That said, the border search exception [wikipedia.org] has always allowed the government to search your bags when you cross the border, to look for drugs, guns, agricultural products, etc. Think about passing through Customs at any international crossing -- they get to randomly pull you out of line and dump out the contents of your bag for any reason whatsoever (or no reason whatsoever) and make sure you're not smuggling anything into the country. That understanding of the Fourth Amendment has been on the books for centuries. It might be "right" or "wrong," but there's no doubt that it's been the law for ages.
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if the right to search your physical belongings is limited in any way, or whether they assert the right to make a photocopy of any printed document that you may have with you. Imaging taking your personal journal or diary along on a trip and having someone insist that they must photocopy it to pass through customs. How are your "papers and effects" a perceived threat to anyone while traveling, and how can one be secure in them anymore?
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Funny)
Odd operating systems like AROS or text only interfaces may also do well. You just can't fail the nerdity test then!
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Funny)
The Supreme Court doesn't set presidents, they set precedents.
Oh, wait...
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Re:I Wonder (Score:5, Funny)
Judging from his poll numbers, it is safe to say that GWB has. The truthiness of this is beyond doubtability.
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Where and how do they search (Score:5, Interesting)
I know encryption gets their panties in a twist, but suppose I have data I want kept private is just burying it in a weird location good enough?
What are they actually looking for, and how would they be searching for it? Unlikely to get them disclosing said techniques publicly, so... Rampant speculation?
Re:Where and how do they search (Score:5, Insightful)
What about employees of organizations/in professions that are legally required to protect information?
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Re:Where and how do they search (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, they're not really limited by when your plan leaves.
They will hold you until they're done with you -- if you don't make your flight, that's not their problem, really.
They don't feel you have any right to privacy when crossing the boarder. Any attempt to maintain privacy is clearly an attempt to evade detection.
People who are evading detection clearly have something to hide, and merit further questioning.
You really are fsck'd either way. And, in the end, they could just keep the laptop anyway if they choose.
Cheers
Parent
Re:Where and how do they search (Score:5, Informative)
So... You UPS your encrypted laptop (and your clothes, shampoo, etc.) to wherever you are going and get on the airplane with as little technology as you are willing to lose when you travel.
I fail to see how DHS or TSA are still a problem for people traveling. I've done this for years (even before the whole "OH NOES! TERRORISTS!") and I have yet to lose an article of clothing or some bit of technology when I travel.
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4th Amendment... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:4th Amendment... (Score:5, Insightful)
As a condition of allowing you to cross the border, you are subject to search. It is as simple as that.
All governments have always rightfully had the power to control traffic across their borders.
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Re:4th Amendment... (Score:5, Funny)
Are you saying you were flying along and accidentally encountered the US border?
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Re:4th Amendment... (Score:5, Informative)
Not that it's ever happened for me. I swear when they scan my passport the screen comes up with a big message saying "BORING" and they just let me through. Which is fine with me!
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Re:4th Amendment... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Cmon people (Score:5, Informative)
That's the entire point of the ruling. The government has always been able to search your bags when you cross the border, to look for drugs and guns coming into the country. That's been on the books for 200 years. The question was whether computers would be treated differently and get more protection than everything else.
What threat does data on a computer pose to an airplane?
It's not about getting on airplanes. This does not apply to domestic flights. It's about stuff crossing the border by any means. Presumably, this would apply just as much if you crossed the border by train or in a car.
The case has nothing to do with airplanes. It has to do with the "border search exception" to the warrant requirement.
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Re:Time to Roll Out The Crypto (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Time to Roll Out The Crypto (Score:5, Insightful)
Heck, Gonzales once issued a statement once saying that people who haven't cleared customs technically are neither in nor out of the US, and therefore have no actual rights (can't dredge up a reference now). He's certainly said that habeus corpus [sfgate.com] isn't actually a right.
Basically, for a while at least, the legal opinion was that you could be arbitrarily and indefinitely detained without recourse. You're so far removed from the 5th Amendment at that point, it's not funny!!
Unless things change, you have shockingly few rights at the border -- at least until a court clarifies things.
Cheers
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Re:Time to Roll Out The Crypto (Score:5, Informative)
So, here [www.cbc.ca] is a news article which includes the assertion that you basically have no rights.
As a foreign national, and possibly even as a US citizen, you could find yourself with absolutely no legal rights whatsoever. I have no idea if that interpretation is still in effect or not. But, at one point, they could disappear your ass, and didn't feel like they had any real duty to protect you.
Scary shit!!
Cheers
Parent
Re:Logically Different (Score:5, Informative)
The search of people flying on any flight is an "administrative search" to look for weapons. It is strictly limited to searching for weapons--if the cops see drugs they can bust you, but they can't look for drugs or evidence of any other crime.
This is not the same search. This is the Customs search at the border and it has nothing to do with flying. Think about going through US Customs after you land in the US. The key is that it's after you've already landed. The government has always been able to look for drugs at US Customs, which has nothing to do with airline safety. (While a couple of kilos of blow might make your flight more entertaining, it's hardly the sort of thing that makes airplanes crash).
There's a very important difference between pre-flight safety searches (applies to any flight, domestic or international) and customs searches (applies to any means of entering the country).
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Re:Time to think (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Time to think (Score:5, Funny)
When you cry, "think of the children," another right is taken away.
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