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Wyden To Introduce Bill To Prohibit Warrantless Phone Searches At Border (onthewire.io)

Posted by BeauHD on from the swipe-to-unlock dept.

Trailrunner7 quotes a report from On the Wire: A senator from Oregon who has a long track record of involvement on security and privacy issues says he plans to introduce a bill soon that would prevent border agents from forcing Americans returning to the country to unlock their phones without a warrant. Sen. Ron Wyden said in a letter to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security that he is concerned about reports that Customs and Border Patrol agents are pressuring returning Americans into handing over their phone PINs or using their fingerprints to unlock their phones. DHS Secretary John Kelly has said that he's considering the idea of asking visitors for the login data for their various social media accounts, information that typically would require a warrant to obtain. "Circumventing the normal protection for such private information is simply unacceptable," Wyden said in the letter, sent Monday. "There are well-established procedures governing how law enforcement agencies may obtain data from social media companies and email providers. The process typically requires that the government obtain a search warrant or other court order, and then ask the service provider to turn over the user's data."

5 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. lack of foresight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If only our forefathers would have had the foresight to create some sort of document that prevented warrantless searches, then none of this would be necessary.

    1. Re:lack of foresight by KiloByte · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Americans should not be subject to unreasonable searches and seizures.

      Note the wording: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, [...]. It doesn't say "Americans" anywhere. So while I can't run for US president, if I visit, I am supposed to have thugs keep the [expletive] out of my "papers and effects". Which does include my phone.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    2. Re:lack of foresight by Aighearach · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They never would have anticipated the current flow of cross border traffic that might make it an issue. Not to mention the sheer storage capacity and communication ability that modern computing devices give us.

      Most of them personally arrived across the border more times than the average modern American does. And they carried storage devices with their data!

      And nothing in the Constitution was there as a matter of convenience due to limited storage capacity of government warehouses.

  2. And for everyone else...? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's disappointing how these measures always seem to be about protecting the rights of whichever host country is involved, while completely ignoring any intrusion/violation of the rights of visitors.

    --
    If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
  3. Bad for the economy by seoras · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This shit can't be good for the US economy. Tourism and airlines will be most affected.
    I live in NZ but I'm from the UK. I used to live in SF Bay and have friends there. So when flying home to the UK for a visit I would fly via SFO.
    Not anymore. Even flying through the US without going into the country is like an Orwellian nightmare.
    So I fly Emirates via Dubai. It's a damn shame as used to think of California as a 2nd home and loved visiting there.
    I can't be alone in my boycotting.
    The saddest thing is that modern America starting to look more and more like the old USSR.