The Washington Times is reporting the Ninth Circuit Court has ruled confiscation and search of electronic devices constitutes an illegal search. This is a win for the citizens. Unfortunately, this helps the bad guys too. The case in question involved a person with a past history of child pornography. At the border, his computer was seized due to his criminal record alone. The agents did find pornography on his laptop. The question is “do the rest of us deserved to have our property seized and searched at the mercy of a border agent?”
From the article…
“Electronic devices often retain sensitive and confidential information far beyond the perceived point of erasure, notably in the form of browsing histories and records of deleted files,” Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote in the majority opinion. “This quality makes it impractical, if not impossible, for individuals to make meaningful decisions regarding what digital content to expose to the scrutiny that accompanies international travel. A person’s digital life ought not be hijacked simply by crossing a border.”
Chalk one up for the power of the people!!!
Links:
Court curbs laptop searches at U.S. border
USA vs. Howard Cotterman
Photo Credit: Copyright 2013. Paul Lauschke III, All Rights Reserved.