Thread

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

411 points · 378 comments · rbanffy

Tangurena2 · 1790856629 · 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%.
The harassment is targeted at critics & opponents of the current regime. The message is very clear: Be afraid of us. Be very afraid
There are 33 days remaining until election day. Vote out all the incumbents.
1. petcat · 1790857424 · focus · HN ↗
  I will be curious to see statistics from past years. I'm wondering if this is a new thing. I'm pretty sure US customs and border patrol have always had this power. I think basically every country exercises this power
  1. gortok · 1790859812 · focus · HN ↗
    It has always been this way; but for the hundreds of years before computers that fit in the palm of your hand that have your entire life on them, it was to ensure you weren’t bringing dangerous goods or produce into the country. It was a physical search of physical items.
    The issue now is that my entire life is literally on my phone.
    The issue now is that there is a 100-mile ‘border search exception’ in place. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception
    Now, within 100 miles of the border, should CBP choose to, they can search me without a warrant and search everything in my phone, and even retain it if they’d like. If I want to challenge that, I need tens of thousands of dollars and time.
    This is the very definition of an unreasonable search; but to change that we have to change the politicians and change the judiciary. It’s up to us, but until we get it changed, we may as well consider the 4th amendment a dead letter, and that means trouble for all of us.
    moron4hire · 1790861692 · focus · HN ↗
    Wikipedia's map is wrong. The "border" includes international airports. There is very little of the population that is not within 100 miles of this "border."
    The map also does not show Hawai'i, which would be one green blob, there is no part of Hawai'i not 100 miles from the border. All of the New England states are similarly small enough to be completely covered, even by the erroneous picture of the physical border.
    You basically get a few, mostly uninhabited spots out in the West that aren't covered.
    [deleted] · 1790862326 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    ryandrake · 1790867170 · focus · HN ↗
    > It has always been this way; but for the hundreds of years before computers that fit in the palm of your hand that have your entire life on them
    Or, maybe it might help to stop putting our entire lives on our phones.
    If a border patrol agent coerces access to my phone, they're not going to find much. A few default apps, Lyft, an a music player. They're not going to find any social media, any photo album full of personal pictures, any banking apps or really anything that helps them understand what kind of person I am. I'm not going to like them going through it, but the blast radius is limited.
    And that's me, a regular Joe, not wanted by Interpol. If you're at high risk, you should already have normalized this "app minimalism" mentality.
    willmarch · 1790868859 · focus · HN ↗
    Why should people give up their right to free expression and being secure in their papers simply because you have voluntarily given up that right in advance?
    usrbinbash · 1790868875 · focus · HN ↗
    Here's the thing:
    People SHOULD be allowed to put their entire lives on phones if they want to.
    People SHOULD NOT have to worry about governments using that against them.
    ryandrake · 1790869765 · focus · HN ↗
    I agree with both of those things! I'm just suggesting a precaution. People SHOULD be able to cross the road without getting run over, but we look both ways as a precaution. We shouldn't have to, but we do.
    [deleted] · 1790875607 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
    BeetleB · 1790886100 · focus · HN ↗
    I don't disagree with any of your concerns.
    However:
    > The issue now is that my entire life is literally on my phone.
    Is something you should fix. And not because of border searches.
    m463 · 1790898451 · focus · HN ↗
    This is probably true of everyone's phone. Most phones will have a comprehensive profile of who you are, where you live, where you frequent, who you associate with, and what you like to do. Along with specifics even you don't realize.
    BeetleB · 1790903722 · focus · HN ↗
    It has a lot, but nowhere close to my own life.
    I do most online stuff from a PC.

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