Thread

Border agents can search cellphones without a warrant or reasonable suspicion

235 points · 198 comments · mmh0000

petcat · 1789756024 · focus · HN ↗
Customs has always been able to search everything without a warrant or suspicion when crossing the border. I guess this is saying that they can search the digital contents of physical devices/media as well?
1. wrs · 1789756275 · focus · HN ↗
  It says they can manually search them. According to this, the ruling explicitly doesn’t say if they can digitally search them.
  1. inopinatus · 1789757131 · focus · HN ↗
    digitally also means “using the fingers”, so never consent to a digital search without prior clarification
    esafak · 1789760240 · focus · HN ↗
    You using the whole fist, doc?
    SoftTalker · 1789761770 · focus · HN ↗
    Breathe easy.
    LocalH · 1789842994 · focus · HN ↗
    Two in the pink, one in the stink
2. otterley · 1789763317 · focus · HN ↗
  Not everything. From the case itself:
  "To be sure, nonroutine searches, which are “more invasive searches, like strip searches, require reasonable suspicion.” Id. But we have held that “the label ‘non-routine’ should generally be reserved for intrusive border searches of the person (such as body-cavity searches or strip searches), not belongings.” United States v. Levy, 803 F.3d 120, 123 n.3 (2d Cir. 2015) (emphasis added)."

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