The Fourth Circuit Says Border Agents Can Search Your Phone By Hand, No Suspicion Required
www.eff.org
Legal intern Suzanne Castillo was the principal author of this post.The Fourth Circuit issued a disappointing opinion in U.S. v. Belmonte Cardozo, a case in which EFF filed an amicus brief, alongside the national ACLU, its Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia affiliates, and the...
  • atrielienz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2 hours

    I have a question about the whole port thing. Apparently (according to another case where a guy wiped his phone), international airports count as a port of entry where the authorities can search your phone without a warrant. But at the same time, shouldn’t that only count in the event that you’re using it as a port of exit or entry into the country? You mean to tell me I can take a flight to NY from Missouri and have my phone subjected to a search just because JFK is an international airport?

    Can I drive by a border crossing and be subject to search?

    According to the information found at this link the answer is yes.

    https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/rules-car-searches-different-search-near-us-border.html

    So if I happen to live without a 100 mile radius of a border crossing I’m screwed? It seems like this decision further exacerbates an injustice inherent in the how much power ICE has, and it’s bullshit. You should need probable cause to search someone.

    • GreenBeard@lemmy.caEnglish
      2 hours

      Yeah. Has been for a long time friend. ICE stopping charter or even city busses to round up working people and make them prove they’re citizens just because they happen to be within 100 miles of a border is practically a cliche at this point. Any international airport, shipping port, etc. works the same way. They operate on guilty until proven innocent, and if you are proven innocent, they’ll invent a reason you’re not anyway.

  • kylian0087@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4 hours

    Oke, but am I required to give my password? Also is it “illegal” to give a duress pin if asked?

    • Carmakazi@piefed.socialEnglish
      3 hours

      You’ll almost certainly get charged with “disposing of evidence” or broadly “obstruction” if you give them a duress pin that scrambles your phone. Maybe get smacked around a bit because you injured their authority over you.

    • dogslayeggs@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3 hours

      This ruling doesn’t get into that question. Based on how courts treat refusing to take a breathalyzer, I’m guessing it opens you up to being detained for 24 hours on suspicion of a crime, giving them time to obtain a warrant. A different write-up says that if you do not give a password, they can detain your device and make you wait; but you are not required to give up the password. No other write-ups I can find mention the password issue.

      I know previous rulings have said that Face Unlock does NOT count as forcing your password and is allowed by police in searches. When I go on international trips, I disable Face Unlock on my work phone before going to the airports to block that pathway since my phone contains company proprietary information and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). I have nothing embarrassing or illegal or incriminating on my personal phone, so I usually don’t bother.

  • _Nemo_@lemmy.mlEnglish
    5 hours

    And now, everyone!

    “IN THE LAND OF THE FREE
    AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE!”

    • slacktoid@lemmy.mlEnglish
      4 hours

      The bravest and the freeest boys and girls, that’s why nobody needs privacy, cause youre all so free and brave!

  • palordrolap@fedia.io
    4 hours

    Let me guess, this doesn’t count as a legal proceeding and so you can’t plead the 5th?