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New Zealand Travelers Refusing Digital Search Now Face $5000 Customs Fine (msn.com)
Travelers in New Zealand who refuse to hand over their phone or laptop passwords to Customs officials can now be slapped with a $5000 fine. From a report: The Customs and Excise Act 2018 -- which comes into effect today -- sets guidelines around how Customs can carry out "digital strip-searches." Previously, Customs could stop anyone at the border and demand to see their electronic devices. However, the law did not specify that people had to also provide a password. The updated law makes clear that travelers must provide access -- whether that be a password, pin-code or fingerprint -- but officials would need to have a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. "It is a file-by-file [search] on your phone. We're not going into 'the cloud.' We'll examine your phone while it's on flight mode," Customs spokesperson Terry Brown said. If people refused to comply, they could be fined up to $5000 and their device would be seized and forensically searched. Mr Brown said the law struck the "delicate balance" between a person's right to privacy and Customs' law enforcement responsibilities. "I personally have an e-device and it maintains all my records -- banking data, et cetera, et cetera -- so we understand the importance and significance of it."
It's even simpler than that. Don't go to New Zealand.
I wipe my iphone before landing on a plane, and set it up as new. I do the same with my iPad. I have an external SSD that I use as a time capsule specifically for time capsule to quickly update and backup / restore. It's encrypted, so it won't show anything unless you know how to mount it (a simple offset).
When I'm through customs, I start restoring my laptop, then my iDevices. It's terribly inconvenient, and never been tested crossing the border back into the US, but I'm of Arab descent and I feel that if they want you, they will simply plant it or find SOMETHING you have done to break the law.
This is the sad state of "freedom" in the US these days. I'm a citizen (have been since birth) like my father before me.
My employer would have something to say about it. They would issue me burners. Or more likely have the local office give me a loaner while I'm there so I don't have to carry devices across the border. This just imposes a huge expense on business travelers in order to apprehend the dumbest of criminals.