The article is not that clear in one way. Does this only apply to non-US Citizens ?
weberer•32m ago
Anybody crossing the border. The justification is that the government's constitutional right to control imports overrides the 4th amendment right to privacy.
>“The border-search exception is grounded in the recognized right of the sovereign to control, subject to substantive limitations imposed by the Constitution, who and what may enter the country.” Id. at 620. Because “[t]he Government’s interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border,” United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 152 (2004), “searches made at the border, pursuant to the long-standing right of the sovereign to protect itself by stopping and examining persons and property crossing into this country, are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border,” Ramsey, 431 U.S. at 616.
So the argument is basically that Americans already consent to allowing customs to search anything and everything that they are physically bringing across the border, whether a US citizen or not, and now that is also affirmed to include the digital contents of electronic devices.
howdyhowdy•11m ago
Worse though, is that the definition of border is hella loose. CBP can be many MANY miles away from an actual border and do this.
tocs3•32m ago
Near the top of the article:
“Today’s decision leaves Americans’ most sensitive information open to search at the border without any suspicion at all,”
I think this is just an extension of a general we, as government officials protecting American freedoms, can do what we want and will justify it later if we have to policy.
It should probably be noted that this specific case led to a conviction of an actual crime (Bank fraud and money laundering).
netsharc•22m ago
East Germany built a wall to keep their citizens "free" of "fascist elements"...
tekla•17m ago
You understand that no one actually believed that lie. It was built to stop people from running to west Germany.
phkahler•36m ago
Is it a visual search, or do they make a copy of all your data?
kotaKat•23m ago
It probably depends how pissed off you made the officer at the border if he just wants to thumb through some recent text messages and photos to see if you're doing Crimes or if they're gonna go take it to the Cellebrite UFED in the backroom and dump it out.
In other words... whom (or what) was perceived to have pissed in the CBP officer's Wheaties this morning? We'll never know what grudges he holds to make his decision.
majorchord•16m ago
I thought this was already allowed and the norm for many years?
smalltorch•16m ago
So store your data in a secure location and only access it with devices if your a journalist?
howdyhowdy•10m ago
Isn't it telling that if your immediate thought is to subvert said LAW? That doesn't seem to be serving the people then does it, but the state. The state is supposed to serve its people
jchanimal•3m ago
Since removing a nation-state rootkit is not structurally possible, how is this any different from requiring the device to be forfeited? If all search == seizure and destruction, does that change the legal basis?
jmclnx•40m ago
weberer•32m ago
>“The border-search exception is grounded in the recognized right of the sovereign to control, subject to substantive limitations imposed by the Constitution, who and what may enter the country.” Id. at 620. Because “[t]he Government’s interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border,” United States v. Flores-Montano, 541 U.S. 149, 152 (2004), “searches made at the border, pursuant to the long-standing right of the sovereign to protect itself by stopping and examining persons and property crossing into this country, are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border,” Ramsey, 431 U.S. at 616.
https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OPN/24-960_complete_o...
petcat•13m ago
howdyhowdy•11m ago
tocs3•32m ago
“Today’s decision leaves Americans’ most sensitive information open to search at the border without any suspicion at all,”
I think this is just an extension of a general we, as government officials protecting American freedoms, can do what we want and will justify it later if we have to policy.
It should probably be noted that this specific case led to a conviction of an actual crime (Bank fraud and money laundering).
netsharc•22m ago
tekla•17m ago