“Constitution-Free Zone’’ At US Ports Of Entry

[Intense]

Laptop seizures at customs cause thorny legal dispute
January 08, 2012|By Katie Johnston

David House took his laptop to Mexico a little over a year ago, hoping to squeeze in some work between sightseeing, fishing, and laying on the beach. All went well, vacation- and work-wise, until the former MIT researcher landed in Chicago, where federal agents seized his laptop, kept it for nearly two months, and may have shared information on his hard drive with several government agencies.

They didn’t have a search warrant. They didn’t charge him with a crime. And there was nothing House could do about it.

House, 24, ran into what civil liberties advocates call the “Constitution-free zone’’ at US ports of entry, where courts have carved out broad exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. As long as they don’t use invasive techniques such as strip searches, government agents don’t need reasonable suspicion or probable cause to seize what they want - including laptops, a 2008 appeals court ruling held.

House’s case forms the basis of one of two lawsuits the American Civil Liberties Union has filed to stop the search and seizure of laptops at US borders without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing and calls attention to a vulnerability that many people are unaware of when they travel in and out of the United States with important files on laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

A survey last month by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives found that nearly half of the participating companies did not know customs agents could inspect, copy, or even seize travelers’ laptops.

Laptop seizures at customs cause thorny legal dispute - Boston.com

Just a Heads Up.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

The ACLU argues that the search and seizure of laptops is much more invasive than looking in someone’s luggage, since laptops often contain personal, private, or sensitive information. Several bills that would require suspicion of illegal activity to search laptops have been considered by Congress in recent years, but they have never passed.

Opposed by politicians fearful of appearing ‘weak of terror.’

The suit, which House acknowledges won’t be easily won, is pending in US District Court in Boston. House isn’t seeking damages, but he wants the government to return or destroy any copies it made of data on his computer and disclose which agencies were given access to it. If House prevails, the government could no longer search travelers’ laptops without a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity, according to the ACLU.

According to the 4th Amendment, for that matter.

 

[Intense]

The potential for theft and abuse here is real.

 

[CaughtInTheMid]

damn. how much more are we gonna change because we're afraid of a bunch of radicals???

 

[Intense]

damn. how much more are we gonna change because we're afraid of a bunch of radicals???

This is where Foundation either comes into play or it doesn't. Principles don't change. We should try to not forget that, or abandon them when adapting to Circumstance. There are always going to be times where conditions compromise Liberty, but that is temporal and for the most part by general consent.

Violating Trust is a whole different matter.