Yes, Customs agents have been seizing laptops, Blackberries, and other portable electronic devices at the border without cause. Nobody knows how many -- anecdotal evidence suggests more than 15.
On July 10, 2008 , The New York Times published an editorial asking the government to pass legislation clarifying the right of customs agents to inspect and hold travellers' electronic devices.
The Electronic Freedom Foundation suggests that you take action. Inform your Senator and Congressional representative that you want all Americans electronic privacy to be protected.
Via BoingBoing: The ACLU has a broader suggestion:
Tell Congress to Rein in DHS Travel Abuses
DHS travel abuses include:
1. A terrorist watch list with over one million names on it, growing by twenty thousand names per month.
2. Security agents that seize laptops, cell phones, and PDAs as Americans enter the United States, with no suspicion of wrongdoing.
3. Invasive airport scanners that let agents conduct virtual strip searches of passengers.
4. A proposal to have every traveler wear an "electro-muscular disruption" bracelet that airline personnel or marshals could use to shock passengers into submission.Traveling shouldn’t mean checking your rights when you’re checking your luggage. Tell Congress: it’s time to rein in travel abuses by the Department of Homeland Security.
I am hoping that one outcome of the Presidential election will be a renewed respect for the Constitution.
Links and articles of interest:
- Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) Authority to Search
- Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE): The News and What to Do over Laptop Seizures
- Jason Ahern, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, defends laptop seizures
- Washington Post: Clarity Sought on Electronic Searchs February 7 2008
- Lifehacker: How to Avoid Laptop Seizures
- BoingBoing: Read the NYT Editorial The Government and Your Laptop
- Declan McCullagh, August 1 2008: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has concocted a remarkable new policy: It reserves the right to seize for an indefinite period of time laptops taken across the border.
- ACTE: What to do if your electronic device is seized
- American Constitution Society: Border Searches and Seizures of Electronic Devices
- Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) Border Searches and Seizures of Electronic Devices (2007)
- EFF: Congress Must Investigate Electronic Searches at US Borders (May 1 2008)
- EFF: Protecting Yourself Against Suspicionlesss Searches While Traveling (May 1 2008)
- EFF: Judges Urged to Curtail Random Searches of Travelers' Laptops (June 12, 2008)
- EFF: Congress Must Investigate Privacy Violations at US Borders June 25, 2008
- EFF: Public Pressure Mounts Against Invasive Border Searches (August 8 2008)
- PalMD at Denialism: Travelling with Others' Medical Information on Your Laptop: Which Government Directive Reigns? (August 8 2008)
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