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Returning from vacation? The government can search your phone without a warrant

411 points · 378 comments · rbanffy

  1. raincole · · focus · HN ↗
    > “In [Fiscal Year] 2025, out of the over 419 million travelers CBP processed at ports of entry, CBP only searched the electronic devices of 55,318 international travelers,” the agency wrote, or 0.0013%.

    And...

    > In Fiscal Year 2020, CBP processed more than 238 million travelers at U.S. ports of entry. During that same period of time, CBP conducted 32,038 border searches of electronic devices, representing less than .014 percent of arriving international travelers.[1]

    In other words, now it's as likely[0] to get your phone searched as in 2020. It's interesting how the media shapes people's perspective, isn't it?

    [0]: 0.001% less likely, so just marginal error.

    [1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cbp.gov&#x2F;newsroom&#x2F;stats&#x2F;cbp-enforcement-statistics-fy22" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cbp.gov&#x2F;newsroom&#x2F;stats&#x2F;cbp-enforcement-statistic... not sure it reports 2020&#x27;s data here though.

    1. ceejayoz · · focus · HN ↗
      &gt; In other words, now it&#x27;s as likely to get your phone searched as in 2020.

      Do you think these are random searches?

    2. IAmBroom · · focus · HN ↗
      Your math doesn&#x27;t line up. 0.0013% is ten times less than 0.014%.

      If there is a spurious zero, .013% is a 7% change from 0.014%, not 0.001%.

      1. notpushkin · · focus · HN ↗
        There is a spurious zero.

          32038 &#x2F; 238000000 ≈ 0.01346134454%
  55318 &#x2F; 419000000 ≈ 0.01320238663%
    3. sethammons · · focus · HN ↗
      Good thing nobody is working on automation that could pump those numbers. Oh, wait, they are.

      How is your argument any different than Stalin killing only X people that he was suspicious of or the KGB only being able to target N people due to not having more manpower?

      I think 0.001% is too high. These are not accidental; these are intentional. That you personally haven&#x27;t been targeted is only limited by the ability of them to do more, which is continually changing

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