ACLU Sues For Records On Border Laptop Searches

TechPolitik writes "The ACLU has sued the US Customs and Border Protection agency under the Freedom of Information Act, aiming to obtain records on the agency's policy of searching laptops at the border. Under the policy, the CBP can search through financial records, photos, and Web site histories, and retain that information for unspecified periods of time. The ACLU is arguing that the information is necessary to understand whether the CBP may be violating the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable and unwarranted searches. The agency has so far not responded to requests for comment."

Comments

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[belmolis]

As there is no prohibition on data entering the country, I'm at a loss as to why border agents would be interested in or have authority to search laptops beyond checking that they are, in fact, actually laptops.

Actually, some data is prohibited, e.g. child pornography. In any case, the claim is that they are looking for evidence that the owner of the laptop is a terrorist. The documents that constitute such evidence might well not be prohibited entry, but they would be useful in determining whether or not to admit the bearer. It's just like examining someone's papers. There's nothing illegal about bringing identification papers into the US, but if someone claims to be a tourist and turns out to have papers that identify him as, say, a member of an Iranian intelligence agency, that would bear on whether or not to admit him to the US.

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[CRC'99]

The fun part is - that as a non-US citizen, I look at something like this and think "What the hell is the US Government wanting to know what people have on their computer as they visit the US?".

What happened to the whole idea of freedoms and liberty for all that every US history class tells you America was founded on?

The more I hear about this kind of thing happening, the less I want to visit the US and chance of me doing business with American businesses gets lower and lower.

It seems to this foreigner that the US government needs to be told to pull it's fucking head in and act like a government - not the Gestapo.

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[GumphMaster]

Not once have I had to surrender my fingerprint(s) to cross the border of an EU (or even non-US) nation.

Not once has my laptop hard disk been imaged and stored as I crossed the border of an EU country.

Not once has my employer outright banned carrying our work-a-day laptop on trips to EU countries. My last employer, a large US company subsidiary, even issued clean machines to people travelling to the US because (clearly) the corporation doesn't trust its own government officials. Of course, all our files were still available on the global corporate network, which made a joke of the border controls anyway.

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[Runaway1956]

"I mean it is 200 years old document, some of it is hardly relevant today."

I call bullshit. There is nothing in the constitution of the United States, or the amendments, that is irrelevant today. The amendment prohibiting the possession and consumption of alcohol is irrelevant, yes, BUT, there is a subsequent amendment repealing that amendment. It is a nice tidy document, which defines how government should be run. All other laws are supposed to fit within that guide.

That very relevant document is the litmus paper used to test all other laws in this nation.

It hasn't been necessary to change that constitution very many times, because the people who wrote it put a lot of work, and a lot of foresight into it.

I'll thank you not to declare my constitution as irrelevant. I rely on it for my freedoms of speech, my right to vote, my right to bear arms (yes, my PERSOANAL RIGHT to bear a firearm), my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That document is so relevant, that I am perfectly willing to go out and fight for it despite the fact that I'm an old bastard with sons in uniform.

Thank you, I'll step down off the ammo box now...... (an ammo box can be used for a soapbox or a ballot box, there's no need to keep three seperate boxes around)

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[TheGratefulNet]

What happened to the whole idea of freedoms and liberty for all that every US history class tells you America was founded on?

when you grow older (like, when you leave junior high) you realize it was all a lie and that the US is not some wonderful disney movie where the good guys wear white hats, etc.

the US laws, like most other countries, are REALLY setup to control and push down the populace. laws are not there to make your life better; they're there for the power guys in control to keep them in control. these days, that also means keeping a nice bit of fear always going.

all this is RIGHT out of 1984. I read that as a child, some 40 years ago, and I'm seeing so much of that story come to life, its not even funny.

part of the problem is that those who are making the laws have often been above the law. given the class system (lawmakers, cops, lawyers, politicians and even TSA) - there is no way regular old joe citizen can preserve his privacy or civil rights in today's world (not just US but the whole world is catching onto this anti-freedom craze).

revolution. nothing else will fix it. sorry to say that but the system is beyond repair. we're watching it fully melt down in front of our eyes. I expect a revolution (or collapse) in the next 10-20 years, if it even takes that long.

until then, just keep your head low. (yeah, I ignore my own advice a lot, huh?)