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US Courts Consider Legality of Laptop Inspection

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the my-porn-is-all-grown-up-anyway dept.

ceide2000 writes "The government contends that it is perfectly free to inspect every laptop that enters the country, whether or not there is anything suspicious about the computer or its owner. Rummaging through a computer's hard drive, the government says, is no different from looking through a suitcase. One federal appeals court has agreed, and a second seems ready to follow suit." This story follows up on a story about laptop confiscation at the borders from a few months ago.

3 of 595 comments (clear)

  1. hmph by moogied · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I for one welcome our laptopinspecting overlords. May there lap loving appetite be satisfied.

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    So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
  2. Re:No you have a choice. by operagost · · Score: 1, Redundant

    If you RTFA, the issue involves non-citizens of the US.

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    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  3. Re:No, they won't by jimicus · · Score: 0, Redundant

    It will be like every other kind of inspection; random, and just enough of them to keep people on their toes and discourage them from breaking the law.

    Unless, perhaps, there was some sort of communications network they could use that can cross international boundaries without data being blocked. Sure, it might be liable to eavesdropping, but that's what encryption was invented for.

    I wonder how practical such a system would be to set up?