INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A federal court in Boston has ruled that the government is not allowed to search travelers& phones or other electronic devices at the
United States border without first having reasonable suspicion of a crime.
That a significant victory for civil liberties advocates, who
say the government own rules allowing its border agents to search electronic devices at the border without a warrant are
unconstitutional.
The court said the government policies on warrantless searches of devices without reasonable suspicion &violate the Fourth
Amendment,& which provides constitutional protections against warrantless searches and seizures.
The case was brought by 11 travelers — 10
of whom are United States citizens — with support from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who
said border agents searched their smartphones and laptops without a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing or criminal activity.
The border
remains a bizarre legal grey area, where the government asserts powers that it cannot claim against citizens or residents within the United
States but citizens and travelers are not afforded all of their rights as if they were on United States soil
The government has long said it doesn''t need a warrant to search devices at the border
Any data collected by Customs - Border Protection without a warrant can still be shared with federal, state, local and foreign law
enforcement.
Esha Bhandari, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said the ruling &significantly advances&
protections under the Fourth Amendment.
This is a great day for travelers who now can cross the international border without fear that the
government will, in the absence of any suspicion, ransack the extraordinarily sensitive information we all carry in our electronic devices,&
said Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney at the EFF.
Millions of travelers arrive into the United States every day
Last year, border officials searched 33,000 travelers& devices — a fourfold increase since 2015 — without any need for reasonable
In recent months, travelers have been told to inform the government of any social media handles they have, all of which are subject to
search prior to being let in to the United States
But some have been denied entry to the United States for content on their phones shared by other people.
A spokesperson for Customs and
Border Protection did not immediately comment.
US border officials are increasingly denying entry to travelers over others& social media
