Customs copying your data at the border

sba55

sba55

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sba55
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which represents 2,500 business executives in the United States and abroad, said it has tracked complaints from several members, including Udy, whose laptops have been seized and their contents copied before usually being returned days later.
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( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/06/AR2008020604763.html )

Things really are going downhill. I guess we'll have to wait for the courts to sort this out.

In the meantime, my company now requires us to encrypt everything before traveling. At least they can't force you to give them your encryption key.

-Felix
 
sba55 said:
( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/06/AR2008020604763.html )

Things really are going downhill. I guess we'll have to wait for the courts to sort this out.

In the meantime, my company now requires us to encrypt everything before traveling. At least they can't force you to give them your encryption key.

-Felix
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They can seize the computer & never return it. Or wipe it clean.

Please note that one traveler had her computer seized when LEAVING the US, not just entering.

I want my country back.
 
wsuffa said:
They can seize the computer & never return it. Or wipe it clean.
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Scary stuff. I wonder if you could sue them for destroying your data? Of course, they only need to flash the "national security" card and no one will dare to say any more.

wsuffa said:
Please note that one traveler had her computer seized when LEAVING the US, not just entering.

I want my country back.
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Amen.

-Felix
 
Armageddon Aviator said:
Is this some kind of Joke ? :eek:
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Unfortunately, not.

gibbons said:
January 20 can't come fast enough.
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Chip, I don't believe that will really fix the civil liberties problem. I have no faith in either party to fix it. If anything, the parties play off each other: One party creates policies in the name of "national security", the other uses and expands those powers in the name of "protecting us from ourselves and bad corporations". We've got very bad precedent here, and it didn't happen just in the last 8 years. Remember J. Edgar? Or Watergate? Or Joseph McCarthy? <shudder> Neither party is truly for open government - it'll expose the cockroaches to the embarrassment of whomever is in power. If Clinton creates a dynasty, the past track record isn't much better than the Bush dynasty. Speaking of that, I saw Webster Hubbell at another table while at lunch the other day.... guess he's out of prison.

Side note: I know someone who had the TSA (yep the checkpoint guys) rifle through each individual piece of paper in his briefcase, taking pictures of some of the "business confidential" drawings, and then search his laptop. No warrant, no law enforcement officer, etc. I've also seen claims of folks added to the "no fly" list for not allowing TSA to search their hard-drives that contained confidential litigation and bid material (though I'm reserving judgement on that case until I see some more proof).

Very scary stuff.
 
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Hmm... since airline travel is public carriage, one can make the argument that it's not illegal search, as passengers consent to it when they buy a ticket, and they have other options for transportation.

I wonder how the legal arguments would change when travelling by personal airplane, which is private carriage. By what right would TSA have the ability to search/seize private property (note that inspection is different as it doesn't permit retention of non-contraband items) when you are walking out to your airplane?
 
wsuffa said:
...Side note: I know someone who had the TSA (yep the checkpoint guys) rifle through each individual piece of paper in his briefcase, taking pictures of some of the "business confidential" drawings, and then search his laptop. No warrant, no law enforcement officer, etc. I've also seen claims of folks added to the "no fly" list for not allowing TSA to search their hard-drives that contained confidential litigation and bid material (though I'm reserving judgement on that case until I see some more proof).

Very scary stuff.
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EFF has filed a lawsuit. Amazingly enough, the DHS doesn't think it needs to reply to FOIA requests.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/02/07
 
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Some of you are mixing issues. Though they both work for DHS, TSA /=Customs. Authority for search is widely different. I could see a tenuous authority for Customs to do what they are accused of doing. I see none at all for what some of you said for TSA.
 
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But both are DHS, and this seems to be a DHS policy implemented by two separate agencies.

TSA is performing similar search/seizures on strictly domestic flights and ICE/CBP is doing it on international flights.
 
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