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:The 4th amendment is only for criminals!

[Kral_Blbec]

a year or two ago I would have somewhat felt inclined towards such statements. Not complete agrement but acknowledging that it has a point. The way things have been accelerating towards socialism in the US recently, it just scares me now.

Re:It's a search without a warrant.

[Shakrai]

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.

Yes, because searching your laptop at the border is exactly the same as rounding up minorities and sending them to death camps. It's exactly the same as hanging enemies of the state with piano wire after "convictions" obtained in a kangaroo court. The United States Department of Homeland Security also operates without any form of judicial or legislative oversight and is answerable only to President Obama.

You raised good points in the rest of your post but this last comparison of yours is utterly absurd.

Re:TrueCrypt - easy free, effective

[Omestes]

offers completely unbreakable encryption.

Is there such a thing? Unfeasible encryption maybe, but all encryption, AFAIK, is breakable given substantial investments of time and money. Even if brute forcing it would take longer than the Earth will be around, there always is finding weak spots in the algorithms, which might, perhaps, bring the cracking time down to at least feasible time frames (albeit in mere geological time).