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DHS Allowed To Take Laptops Indefinitely
andy1307 writes with a Washington Post story giving details of Department of Homeland Security policies for border searches of laptops and other electronic devices (as well as papers). (We have been discussing border searches for a while now.) DHS says such procedures have long been in place but were "disclosed last month because of public interest in the matter," according to the article. Here is a link to the policy (PDF, 5 pages). "Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed. Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption, or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, US Customs and Border Protection and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement... DHS officials said that the newly disclosed policies — which apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens — are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism... The policies cover 'any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,' including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover 'all papers and other written documentation,' including books, pamphlets and 'written materials commonly referred to as "pocket trash..."'"
Were this to be challenged, it would be killed pretty quickly:
Ahh, the idle dreams of the hippy dippy love children.
This meets all the criteria under the fourth.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.
All that accomplishes is angering the populace....and you remember the last time Americans became angry with their government?...
You mean that time all the kids cried on Digg? Yeah, I remember that...
NO YOU FUCKING DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE FUCKING COUNTRY!
READ the damn 4th Amendment! It doesn't fucking say "in the country!" It doesn't fucking say "citizens only!"
The 4th Amendment applies to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Orthodox Jew?
are you using the internet through the hole in the sheet?
Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.