Don't be fooled, Canadian border patrol proudly engages in this as well. I was recently driving across the border to Montreal on vacation when Canadian border agents, in addition to searching my car and personal belongings, demanded to see my cell phone and turn over the password. I simply asked why, since I didn't think I was doing anything suspicious, at which point the agent angrily responded "because I can and now I'm going to search it extra thoroughly." I asked what would happen if I didn't turn the password over and just went back home to the US, they told me they'd seize the device and put me in prison until they break into it. So, I gave the password, 3 agents took it in the back for 45 minutes, came back and questioned me about some texts I had with a friend from months ago who was talking about marijuana, and eventually let me pass to Canada. Hopefully they didn't hold on to all my personal data or install backdoors but just in case I wiped the phone and reinstalled from a backup.
In any case, this was extremely intrusive and I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole trip. I wondered what would happen if I had actually forgotten my phone password - just weeks before I changed from a 6 digit numeric code to a longer alphanumeric and almost forgot it since it had been a while since the last time I restarted my phone requiring password entry. I had a lot of very private photos and conversations on there with my SO. Definitely ruined my whole vacation.
Edit: Also, they didn't just stick to private photos and messages, they even opened up dating apps checking for messages there, opened up unread snap and kik messages too.
I’ve always found it ridiculous that the content of devices is fair game. There is literally nothing on a phone that couldn’t be digitally downloaded after crossing the border (therefore no “threat” by bringing the phone with you). Similarly, there is no possible way to harm an airplane based on what is present on a laptop; and even if there were, you could buy in-flight WiFi and download the bits after boarding. You could cross the checkpoint with a blank device and in seconds have it populated with whatever you wanted to have. It’s insane.
> I asked what would happen if I didn't turn the password over and just went back home to the US, they told me they'd seize the device and put me in prison until they break into it.
I guess it depends on how much you care about your personal info or how sensitive your data is, but I wouldn't budge based on this. I'd say, "Okay, I want to talk to the American embassy," then wait it out.
Edit: To be clear, this would be my response without knowing anything about the relevant Canadian law — since I don't – because the statement sounds like a lie. LE lies all the time. Indefinite imprisonment of a random person? Nah. And breaking into a locked phone is actually very difficult — see Apple versus FBI.
The company I work for is located in Canada and I've been heavily involved in the Bitcoin ecosystem. So I've been back and forth fair amount and this mirrors my experience.
I normally wipe my devices while crossing the border, phone and laptop but one time while I was doing a much shorter round trip, I decided not to wipe my phone.
on my way into Canada, i was identified for enhanced screening at like 10pm, After waiting an hour, the agent asked for my return flight ticket, which I didn't have printed. so it's late, im dangerously close to missing my connection, and I think, "Oh! I probably have the confirmation email on my phone!"
So i pull out my trusty CIA surveillance device, unlock it, and pull up the confirmation email. The agent then takes it directly out of my hands and walks into the back. I don't know how long he was gone (long enough to miss my flight) but when he came back he had a bunch of questions about a girl I had been texting and who had sent me some provocative photos. I don't know that helped Canada's national security but sure, whatever.
To be fair, the US CBP has never taken any devices from me but they do stop me routinely and dump my bag and ask all sorts of ridiculous questions. I used to fight it but now I just sit/stand quietly until they are done. On my latest trip, i guess I was too polite so the agent decided that was suspicious. His face got all twisted as he began asking me the questions.
There are no rights at the border so don't cross with anything.
I think that settles it. I was already considering this before, but now I'm actually going to do it. Before crossing the border, I'm rooting my phone so I can take a full disk image, which I'll leave at home. Then I'll factory reset and just load what I need for the trip^. It's a pain, but worth it to avoid the chance of this kind of invasion of privacy.
^Can make an image of that too for ease of use on future trips.
Of course, if they can do this, there's nothing really stopping them from forcing you to log into your webmail either, so maybe there's nothing you can ultimately do. (At least short of creating elaborate decoy accounts, but then you're actively lying to them, which probably isn't a great idea.)
On entering Canada, I've been asked to open my laptop, turn it on, enter an administrator level password, and then search for *.jpg. Everything shows up -- cached browser images as well. The agent asked a lot of questions, but I was allowed to pass eventually. This all took place out in the open, where they would normally collect a form from you.
I immediately started using TrueCrypt with the plausible deniability option, which allows you to enter an alternate password to open a completely different part of the encrypted area seeded with some random files that look realistic enough to pass scrutiny.
It was always fun to unmount the volume and remount it with the plausible deniability volume. Or, just shutting down before crossing the border and knowing that, if needed, I'd enter the alternate password.
Recently I started using a Mac and Apple's own full disk encryption, but reading this just highlights the risk. Maybe I should start using TrueCrypt again.
I'm curious, do you think anything about your appearance or car made them profile you specifically? I crossed over a few years ago at Niagara falls and found the border agents extremely courteous and friendly, probably more so than any other crossing I've made in the world. I mention it not as anecdata, but just to wonder if even the same border agent might treat someone very negatively today (change in policy over time) or simply because they are looking at silly factors like how old your car looks.
Differential access to civil rights are a big part of why I gave up my driver's license.
Pulling over a driver and pointing a gun at them? Trivial. Pulling over a livery vehicle and searching the passenger? Complicated. Demanding someone in a car give you their phone's password? Trivial. Doing the same at the airport? My weekends filled for a month hosting fundraisers for PACs.
Some friends of mine were turned back at the border because they didn't make advance reservations for a hotel and therefore prove their trip really was legit.
I'm sorry this happened to you. I don't think anyone should do this under any pretext - accepting will open you to so much more potential risk than not.
In moments like this, I'm happy to be employed by a large company that has a strong vested interest against people snooping through my emails.
If such a situation were to happen in my case, I would just reply "I cannot do that as this phone belongs to $company. My employer knows of my travel itinerary and if I am delayed they will be very happy to send lawyers to sort things out."
It's sad and dystopian, but I trust my employer to watch out for my interests more so than any government.
I've mused to myself about factory wiping my phone before I travel, since it's simply a matter of getting wifi and time to restore, or if that would only infuriate them more handing them a phone with quite literally nothing installed on it.
CBSA basically has full authority to censor whatever they wish and detain whomever they wish while they take whatever they wish and search however they wish.
I read a story on /r/hentai (yes, bear with me) who said that he was stopped at the Canadian border and they searched his laptop. In his browser image cache they found drawings of fictional characters who appeared to be under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts. They detained him for a day (or two, I can't remember) and confiscated his laptop permanently.
Laws like this are silly, horrible, and have no place in a democracy. Even disgusting speech ought to be defended.
Canada, the UK and NZ (edit: and Australia, where someone was, I believe, jailed for having "Simpsons porn" on his computer) are places that I know have laws like this. As a citizen of one of these places, it worries me greatly, even though I am not interested in such drawings. It actually enrages me, far more than any other problem in the Western world.
'Agents requested access to his phones and to look through his photos so that they could make sure he was “not posing next to any dead bodies,” he said. When he refused, citing the need to protect his sources as a journalist, they took the phones, he said.
The phones were later returned and showed signs that the SIM cards had been replaced, he said. Giving up the contents of his private phone would be akin to a doctor giving up confidential patient information, he said.
“I’m not going to open my phone for any other country,” Mr. Ou, a New York Times contributor who was an intern for the news organization in 2010, said in a phone interview on Thursday from Nunavut, Canada. “I can’t be expected to do the same for the U.S.”
Jason Givens, a United States Customs and Border Protection spokesman, declined to comment on Mr. Ou’s case, citing privacy laws.'
I'm so embarrassed how America treats people entering the U.S.
It's the first experience foreigners have in our country, and we make it one of the worst experiences in the developed world.
Industries that benefit from tourism should lobby the Federal Government to improve the travel experience to, from, and within the US. I personally would fly at least a few more times a year if the TSA/CBP process treated people with urgency and dignity.
I work remotely and travel the world. I'm also a staunch privacy advocate. My mode for travel is to ensure any device I bring with me has a minimum of data on it, has full encryption, and is powered off before crossing any security boundary.
If the device is powered off it requires a complete pass phrase to decrypt and is not susceptible to cold boot attacks. Beyond that I will adamantly refuse to turn over my passwords to ANYONE, EVER. Anybody who has a legitimate need to bypass my authentication has the ability to do so without my passwords (ala SSO at work). If that ends up with me being unjustly imprisoned, I will fight that battle when it happens.
My findings though are there are two types of border agents that ask inanely stupid things like having you login to a device. The first are bullies on a power trip. These guys will make spurious claims and try to hold you to them, hopefully their supervisors are more reasonable or things go South fast.
The second type are wheedling opportunists. These guys will ask for unreasonable things as an opening to negotiate a large bribe or because they think you'll play along and let them display a power trip to their nearby cronies. If you're adamant and serious, they'll usually just not target you.
The fact this sort of behavior is becoming commonplace in the "more civilized" parts of the world is truly worrisome though. Corruption in most Western governments tends to be at the top, not officers taking bribes. That means this behavior has the full backing of the law (or at least some semblance) and you play a real risk of your entire life being ruined if you don't comply. Personally I still plan to refuse and not give in, but that's not a reasonable choice for most people in this situation. The whole thing is disgusting.
I have the laptop I'm currently working on, and then I have a specialized "travel" laptop that contains nothing. It is pretty much a basic Linux laptop that contains an unencrypted volume containing a basic workstation. We're talking netbook level of sophistication. Same goes with the phone. I have a Dual SIM device that I use when traveling, and it has no email creds or anything on it. Both devices could get cooked and I will just be out a shitty computer and phone. (I also have "China only" devices, but that's a special case.) They contain basic applications I need to use when traveling and that's all.
If I really need one of my work machines and I can't get data from it in country, I will just EMS it to my hotel before I get on the plane.
Border crossings are hostile territory. Take as little as you need for your trip, and don't take any electronic device you will feel bad forfeiting to border patrol or being compromised when it gets taken "in the back room". Assume anything you have on you will be stolen from you or used against you to get a bribe. Doesn't matter if it's North America or South America, Southeast Asia or the Middle East.
US Citizens, Phones stolen, detained without explanation, and officers refused to give names.
"OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman, her family, and her friends were detained for hours by US Customs and Border Protection on their way home from Canada. Everyone being held was a US citizen, and no one received an explanation. Sarah tells the story of their detainment, and her difficulty getting any answers from one of the least transparent agencies in the country."
It's an audio podcasts, but there are transcript as well.
"Keeping America safe and enforcing our nation’s laws in an increasingly digital world depends on our ability to lawfully examine all materials entering the U.S.,"
What does "lawfully" even mean in this context? It's one of those words used specifically to excuse legally questionable practices at best, and outright illegal or unethical behavior by people in positions of authority, like parallel construction and evidence suppression.
You can say we lawfully performed a civil forfieture. Or lawfully detained a suspect for 8 months.
This appears to be a horrifying development. There has been similar treatment of journalists writing about Edward Snowden. I wish there was will to change our laws to restrict such searches, but it aint happening right now.
I tried arguing this persons privacy yet I got highly downvoted on /r/canada, for points that I felt I couldn't refute, specifically that crossing a nations border is not a right but a privilege, and that most Western nations have similar POVs when it comes to the right for border officers to inspect laptops/phones.
I know that the ACLU and EFF have fought to defend Americans from having their laptops/phones inspected at the border, but I believe I read they haven't had much success in the legal system.
I still don't understand the rationale behind being able to inspect someones computer/mobile phone. Even in the case of say, possessing child pornography, I would assume most people are caught by tracked websites than random searches at the border?
As an American, I find this extremely disconcerting. I've long been deeply bothered by the unlimited power the border patrol has, and the lack of transparency it shows when it takes action. Nor am I comfortable how far beyond the border these extended powers are claimed by CBP to exist either.
Frankly, entering the country should be a much more transparent process - and barring something I dont know, I see no reason why this journalist should have been denied entry, other than someone at the border got a hair up their ass about it.
I am deeply concerned for the state of my country people say stupid shit like this:
> “Keeping America safe and enforcing our nation’s laws in an increasingly digital world depends on our ability to lawfully examine all materials entering the U.S.,” Mr. Givens said in a statement on Thursday.
People who say this fail to realize they are the threat.
It doesn't mention in the article if he had a work visa, but I imagine he did if he was assigned by CBC to cover the event. It's pretty terrible that a journalist would be denied entry into a country that supposedly has high press freedom on an official assignment because the government (or maybe just the officer who denied him) doesn't like what's happening in Standing Rock. It's even stranger that 1) he is a well known Canadian journalist, so he's probably as low risk as someone could be, and 2) if this would have been a problem, I'm sure that CBC would have taken care of it ahead of time and made sure everything was in order, but it must be so routine for journalists to come from Canada that there wasn't any other necessary preparations besides getting the visa (which should be enough anyway...). We might not have "minders" while we're in the country, but it seems we now have them when entering.
Given how everything in most phones is by default encrypted these days, I wonder how diffult I would be for someone like Apple to offer a border crossing mode that has whatever apps you deem acceptable, while firewalling off others in an undetectable way?
> Given how everything in most phones is by default encrypted these days
Android isn't encrypted, is it? You can encrypt it BUT say goodbye to your pattern-based login, you'll have to type a password on the Qwerty keyboard every time. So, I don't think anyone enables encryption on Android.
If he actually flew out of YVR, he was probably in a us preclearance area -- us customs are located in some Canadian airports so flights can go directly into us domestic terminals.
Since those screenings are on Canadian territory, us agents do not have police powers or the right to detain people. They can deny entry but people can leave at any time unless they have violated Canadian law. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclea...)
If this was the case, he could have simply left the airport at any time.
Q: do customs agents (in either USA or Canada) have the right to ask for social network passwords, even if you don't cross with a device? e.g. Facebook? Gmail? what about Dropbox? I suppose you could try "I don't have an account on that" but what if they know you do?
I'm sure the journalist would have used a burner phone if he were traveling to China or North Korea. He just needs to understand that the United States of America has a similar view of his human rights.
OT but pertaining to increasing frictions at/across borders.
I'm in the U.S. Today -- for the first time in quite some time -- I went to the post office to mail a small box to an old friend in Belgium. Five paperback books and an inexpensive ceramic dish with a catchy/inspiring quote on it. $38 worth of gifts. Weighed in at 3 lbs, 10 oz.
I'm used to being able to mail something like that for, I don't know, $15 -$20. Maybe $25.
Today, the cheapest option they have for such a thing is "first class". $50. For less than four pounds, in a small cardboard box.
The postal clerk told me she herself has been shocked by the increases. The supposed explanation: "Security."
As I commented elsewhere, it's almost like they don't want us to have international family and friends, anymore.
search, interrogation, and intimidation are timeless and scary-effective ways of maintaining control of narratives and perspectives
the maintenance of physical borders is not only about the physicality of keeping people out, but ideas and expression, the conceptual border guard, too
As a Canadian living in the US, I've had a lot of trouble with US Customs at both airports (YVR, YYZ) and border crossing (Vancouver, Niagara).
However, I don't deny that it is at times necessary for Customs officers to be more strict. I would rather the officers do their jobs correctly and prevent incidents (drug smuggling, terrorism etc.) from happening.
Although at times they do seem to be unnecessarily aggressive.
99% of my experiences crossing the border between the US and CA have been pretty pleasant though I have had some stand out bad ones. At YYZ flying to Florida my wife and I were pulled out of line into secondary screening. We go up to the desk and they ask us how we can afford to be in the US for 3 months without working. We tell them we have savings they ask if they can see our bank accounts and we say sure then they say "thats ok go take a seat for a minute". They then held us there for over an hour until exactly when our flight was scheduled to depart then called us up and told us we could go. The whole time we had to sit there and watch them sit behind their desks chatting. It was infuriating and we lost our business class seats because the next flight was nearly full.
Ambassador bridge is constantly a positive experience for us but Rainbow bridge my wife(Australian) always gets grilled rudely.
As a green card holder, living in Seattle I travel a lot to Vancouver, BC (15-20 times a year). I haven't had a single problem with US CBP, but Canadian one gives me a hard time every other visit. Though it's an anecdotal evidence of course.
[+] [-] jliptzin|9 years ago|reply
In any case, this was extremely intrusive and I couldn't stop thinking about it the whole trip. I wondered what would happen if I had actually forgotten my phone password - just weeks before I changed from a 6 digit numeric code to a longer alphanumeric and almost forgot it since it had been a while since the last time I restarted my phone requiring password entry. I had a lot of very private photos and conversations on there with my SO. Definitely ruined my whole vacation.
Edit: Also, they didn't just stick to private photos and messages, they even opened up dating apps checking for messages there, opened up unread snap and kik messages too.
[+] [-] makecheck|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] exolymph|9 years ago|reply
I guess it depends on how much you care about your personal info or how sensitive your data is, but I wouldn't budge based on this. I'd say, "Okay, I want to talk to the American embassy," then wait it out.
Edit: To be clear, this would be my response without knowing anything about the relevant Canadian law — since I don't – because the statement sounds like a lie. LE lies all the time. Indefinite imprisonment of a random person? Nah. And breaking into a locked phone is actually very difficult — see Apple versus FBI.
[+] [-] wheelerwj|9 years ago|reply
I normally wipe my devices while crossing the border, phone and laptop but one time while I was doing a much shorter round trip, I decided not to wipe my phone.
on my way into Canada, i was identified for enhanced screening at like 10pm, After waiting an hour, the agent asked for my return flight ticket, which I didn't have printed. so it's late, im dangerously close to missing my connection, and I think, "Oh! I probably have the confirmation email on my phone!"
So i pull out my trusty CIA surveillance device, unlock it, and pull up the confirmation email. The agent then takes it directly out of my hands and walks into the back. I don't know how long he was gone (long enough to miss my flight) but when he came back he had a bunch of questions about a girl I had been texting and who had sent me some provocative photos. I don't know that helped Canada's national security but sure, whatever.
To be fair, the US CBP has never taken any devices from me but they do stop me routinely and dump my bag and ask all sorts of ridiculous questions. I used to fight it but now I just sit/stand quietly until they are done. On my latest trip, i guess I was too polite so the agent decided that was suspicious. His face got all twisted as he began asking me the questions.
There are no rights at the border so don't cross with anything.
[+] [-] tempestn|9 years ago|reply
^Can make an image of that too for ease of use on future trips.
Of course, if they can do this, there's nothing really stopping them from forcing you to log into your webmail either, so maybe there's nothing you can ultimately do. (At least short of creating elaborate decoy accounts, but then you're actively lying to them, which probably isn't a great idea.)
[+] [-] sshanky|9 years ago|reply
I immediately started using TrueCrypt with the plausible deniability option, which allows you to enter an alternate password to open a completely different part of the encrypted area seeded with some random files that look realistic enough to pass scrutiny.
It was always fun to unmount the volume and remount it with the plausible deniability volume. Or, just shutting down before crossing the border and knowing that, if needed, I'd enter the alternate password.
Recently I started using a Mac and Apple's own full disk encryption, but reading this just highlights the risk. Maybe I should start using TrueCrypt again.
Ugh...it's frustrating.
[+] [-] lordnacho|9 years ago|reply
Make a second password which "unlocks" the phone to some innocuous mode that won't hold the meatheads attention any longer.
Assuming you aren't specifically targeted.
[+] [-] delackner|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JumpCrisscross|9 years ago|reply
Pulling over a driver and pointing a gun at them? Trivial. Pulling over a livery vehicle and searching the passenger? Complicated. Demanding someone in a car give you their phone's password? Trivial. Doing the same at the airport? My weekends filled for a month hosting fundraisers for PACs.
[+] [-] chinathrow|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jb1991|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GuiA|9 years ago|reply
In moments like this, I'm happy to be employed by a large company that has a strong vested interest against people snooping through my emails.
If such a situation were to happen in my case, I would just reply "I cannot do that as this phone belongs to $company. My employer knows of my travel itinerary and if I am delayed they will be very happy to send lawyers to sort things out."
It's sad and dystopian, but I trust my employer to watch out for my interests more so than any government.
[+] [-] michaelcampbell|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] curried_haskell|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] monksy|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dleslie|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] uniqueid|9 years ago|reply
I don't get it. Are you a journalist, too?
[+] [-] saycheese|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ue_|9 years ago|reply
Laws like this are silly, horrible, and have no place in a democracy. Even disgusting speech ought to be defended.
Canada, the UK and NZ (edit: and Australia, where someone was, I believe, jailed for having "Simpsons porn" on his computer) are places that I know have laws like this. As a citizen of one of these places, it worries me greatly, even though I am not interested in such drawings. It actually enrages me, far more than any other problem in the Western world.
Please be careful when crossing borders.
[+] [-] mtgx|9 years ago|reply
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/cnslttns/ntnl-scrt/thm09-...
[+] [-] unknown|9 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] rhizome|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] loceng|9 years ago|reply
The phones were later returned and showed signs that the SIM cards had been replaced, he said. Giving up the contents of his private phone would be akin to a doctor giving up confidential patient information, he said.
“I’m not going to open my phone for any other country,” Mr. Ou, a New York Times contributor who was an intern for the news organization in 2010, said in a phone interview on Thursday from Nunavut, Canada. “I can’t be expected to do the same for the U.S.”
Jason Givens, a United States Customs and Border Protection spokesman, declined to comment on Mr. Ou’s case, citing privacy laws.'
facepalm
[+] [-] mmanfrin|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nostromo|9 years ago|reply
It's the first experience foreigners have in our country, and we make it one of the worst experiences in the developed world.
Industries that benefit from tourism should lobby the Federal Government to improve the travel experience to, from, and within the US. I personally would fly at least a few more times a year if the TSA/CBP process treated people with urgency and dignity.
[+] [-] tristor|9 years ago|reply
If the device is powered off it requires a complete pass phrase to decrypt and is not susceptible to cold boot attacks. Beyond that I will adamantly refuse to turn over my passwords to ANYONE, EVER. Anybody who has a legitimate need to bypass my authentication has the ability to do so without my passwords (ala SSO at work). If that ends up with me being unjustly imprisoned, I will fight that battle when it happens.
My findings though are there are two types of border agents that ask inanely stupid things like having you login to a device. The first are bullies on a power trip. These guys will make spurious claims and try to hold you to them, hopefully their supervisors are more reasonable or things go South fast.
The second type are wheedling opportunists. These guys will ask for unreasonable things as an opening to negotiate a large bribe or because they think you'll play along and let them display a power trip to their nearby cronies. If you're adamant and serious, they'll usually just not target you.
The fact this sort of behavior is becoming commonplace in the "more civilized" parts of the world is truly worrisome though. Corruption in most Western governments tends to be at the top, not officers taking bribes. That means this behavior has the full backing of the law (or at least some semblance) and you play a real risk of your entire life being ruined if you don't comply. Personally I still plan to refuse and not give in, but that's not a reasonable choice for most people in this situation. The whole thing is disgusting.
[+] [-] micaksica|9 years ago|reply
I have the laptop I'm currently working on, and then I have a specialized "travel" laptop that contains nothing. It is pretty much a basic Linux laptop that contains an unencrypted volume containing a basic workstation. We're talking netbook level of sophistication. Same goes with the phone. I have a Dual SIM device that I use when traveling, and it has no email creds or anything on it. Both devices could get cooked and I will just be out a shitty computer and phone. (I also have "China only" devices, but that's a special case.) They contain basic applications I need to use when traveling and that's all.
If I really need one of my work machines and I can't get data from it in country, I will just EMS it to my hotel before I get on the plane.
Border crossings are hostile territory. Take as little as you need for your trip, and don't take any electronic device you will feel bad forfeiting to border patrol or being compromised when it gets taken "in the back room". Assume anything you have on you will be stolen from you or used against you to get a bribe. Doesn't matter if it's North America or South America, Southeast Asia or the Middle East.
[+] [-] ericthor|9 years ago|reply
US Citizens, Phones stolen, detained without explanation, and officers refused to give names.
"OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman, her family, and her friends were detained for hours by US Customs and Border Protection on their way home from Canada. Everyone being held was a US citizen, and no one received an explanation. Sarah tells the story of their detainment, and her difficulty getting any answers from one of the least transparent agencies in the country."
It's an audio podcasts, but there are transcript as well.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/my-detainment-story-or-how-i-learn...
More on the subject. http://www.wnyc.org/story/on-the-media-2014-02-28/
[+] [-] leeoniya|9 years ago|reply
What does "lawfully" even mean in this context? It's one of those words used specifically to excuse legally questionable practices at best, and outright illegal or unethical behavior by people in positions of authority, like parallel construction and evidence suppression.
You can say we lawfully performed a civil forfieture. Or lawfully detained a suspect for 8 months.
[+] [-] NotSammyHagar|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] colmvp|9 years ago|reply
I know that the ACLU and EFF have fought to defend Americans from having their laptops/phones inspected at the border, but I believe I read they haven't had much success in the legal system.
I still don't understand the rationale behind being able to inspect someones computer/mobile phone. Even in the case of say, possessing child pornography, I would assume most people are caught by tracked websites than random searches at the border?
[+] [-] Aloha|9 years ago|reply
Frankly, entering the country should be a much more transparent process - and barring something I dont know, I see no reason why this journalist should have been denied entry, other than someone at the border got a hair up their ass about it.
[+] [-] sqeaky|9 years ago|reply
> “Keeping America safe and enforcing our nation’s laws in an increasingly digital world depends on our ability to lawfully examine all materials entering the U.S.,” Mr. Givens said in a statement on Thursday.
People who say this fail to realize they are the threat.
[+] [-] michaelcampbell|9 years ago|reply
I don't think they care, honestly.
[+] [-] yladiz|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] buildbot|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tajen|9 years ago|reply
Android isn't encrypted, is it? You can encrypt it BUT say goodbye to your pattern-based login, you'll have to type a password on the Qwerty keyboard every time. So, I don't think anyone enables encryption on Android.
[+] [-] vijayp|9 years ago|reply
Since those screenings are on Canadian territory, us agents do not have police powers or the right to detain people. They can deny entry but people can leave at any time unless they have violated Canadian law. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclea...)
If this was the case, he could have simply left the airport at any time.
[+] [-] TazeTSchnitzel|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] plg|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] spinlock|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pasbesoin|9 years ago|reply
I'm in the U.S. Today -- for the first time in quite some time -- I went to the post office to mail a small box to an old friend in Belgium. Five paperback books and an inexpensive ceramic dish with a catchy/inspiring quote on it. $38 worth of gifts. Weighed in at 3 lbs, 10 oz.
I'm used to being able to mail something like that for, I don't know, $15 -$20. Maybe $25.
Today, the cheapest option they have for such a thing is "first class". $50. For less than four pounds, in a small cardboard box.
The postal clerk told me she herself has been shocked by the increases. The supposed explanation: "Security."
As I commented elsewhere, it's almost like they don't want us to have international family and friends, anymore.
[+] [-] kazinator|9 years ago|reply
"Why, yes; that 151 foot copper lady standing between New York and Jersey, what's'erface."
[+] [-] intro-b|9 years ago|reply
the maintenance of physical borders is not only about the physicality of keeping people out, but ideas and expression, the conceptual border guard, too
[+] [-] huangc10|9 years ago|reply
However, I don't deny that it is at times necessary for Customs officers to be more strict. I would rather the officers do their jobs correctly and prevent incidents (drug smuggling, terrorism etc.) from happening.
Although at times they do seem to be unnecessarily aggressive.
[+] [-] sanswork|9 years ago|reply
Ambassador bridge is constantly a positive experience for us but Rainbow bridge my wife(Australian) always gets grilled rudely.
[+] [-] ryfm|9 years ago|reply