Dept. of Homeland Security: Laptops, Phones Can Be Searched Based on Hunches

CBS ^ | 6/5/13 | CBSDC/AP

[Nachum]

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — U.S. border agents should continue to be allowed to search a traveler’s laptop, cellphone or other electronic device and keep copies of any data on them based on no more than a hunch, according to an internal Homeland Security Department study. It contends limiting such searches would prevent the U.S. from detecting child pornographers or terrorists and expose the government to lawsuits.

The 23-page report, obtained by The Associated Press and the American Civil Liberties Union under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, provides a rare glimpse of the Obama administration’s thinking on the long-standing but controversial practice of border agents and immigration officers searching and in some cases holding for weeks or months the digital devices of anyone trying to enter the U.S.

[Nachum]

The list, Ping

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[DoughtyOne]

After all, we’re the government. We should be able to snoop or steal anything you have on a hunch.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The only goal here is to harass legal citizens all the while the borders are leaking like a sieve.

[no-to-illegals]

Come search me. Please.

[Steely Tom]

And I suppose that if one has encrypted his laptop’s hard drive, and declines to give the password for unlocking it, one can be detained indefinitely, based on recent court precedent IIRC.

[no-to-illegals]

yes, follow a hunch.

[GregNH]

Just photo shop what Janet Napolitano would look like nude and make it your desktop background. That will stop anybody in their tracks!

[jiggyboy]

Ah, “specific and articulable”, we hardly knew ye.

[Gay State Conservative]

My laptop was accessed by Canadian immigration agents a few years ago.They demanded the password and,while they were tearing my car apart,they looked at the contents for about 5 minutes.In all my many travels overseas I’ve only been searched by three countries upon entry...Vietnam,India and Canada.Quite embarrassing and annoying to be sure...particularly by a civilized country like Canada.

[I want the USA back]

The fascists are gaining ground.

[JoeProBono]

[garyb]

TruCrypt with hidden directory is your friend.

[Irenic]

yes.

[ForAmerica]

Dept. of Homeland Security: Laptops, Phones Can Be Searched Based on Hunches

Are these the same people that does nothing about all the illegal aliens that are in this country illegally and they want to search our personal items on a hunch!? Wow!

[Jyotishi]

“TruCrypt with hidden directory is your friend.”

And then in cloud storage.

[Buckeye McFrog]

And I suppose that if one has encrypted his laptop’s hard drive, and declines to give the password for unlocking it, one can be detained indefinitely, based on recent court precedent IIRC.

Oh, silly me, that was my Shred and Crash Self-Destruct password.
You probably wanted the other one, didn't you?

[BitWielder1]

Unacceptable. I might have company confidential information on that laptop, that I'm not *allowed* to share.
And who knows how much crap downloaded by dubious websites.
If I was truly up to no good, I could easily have e-mailed and erased any incriminating bits ahead of time, so searching laptops makes no sense at all.
Government afraid of lawsuits if they don't search? Gimme a break!
Probable cause and a warrant should still be required.
No fishing expeditions by paranoid governments.

[little jeremiah]

Hunches?

What are warrants, nothing?

The real question is how far down into the freaking abyss is this coup going to go before someone majoryly pushes back? Where are the oathkeepers? I don’t mean specifically the organization, just all the oathtakers in all levels, where ever they may be. I hope a goodly percentage of them are considering this.

[spokeshave]

....well....I have a hunch that a certain miscreant at 1600 is using a Blackberry cell phone for nefarious purposes...