http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/06/laptopsearches

Quote :

"The question, before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arose from the prosecution of Michael Timothy Arnold, an American citizen whose laptop was randomly searched in July 2005 at Los Angeles International Airport as he returned from a three-week trip to the Philippines. Agents booted the computer and began opening folders on the desktop, where they found a picture of two naked women, continued searching, then turned up what the government says is child pornography. In June 2006, a judge from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California threw out the evidence, finding that customs officials must have at least "reasonable suspicion" to begin prying into the contents of an electronic storage device, a decision the government is now appealing. "Electronic storage devices function as an extension of our own memory," Judge Dean Pregerson wrote. "They are capable of storing our thoughts, ranging from the most whimsical to the most profound. Therefore, government intrusions into the mind -- specifically those that would cause fear or apprehension in a reasonable person -- are no less deserving of Fourth Amendment scrutiny than intrusions that are physical in nature." While it's not clear how many laptops are searched at the border each year, both business and recreational travelers are increasingly toting computers with them, complete with hard drives full of personal pictures, confidential corporate documents and revealing internet logs. An October 2006 survey of business travel executives revealed that some companies were rethinking rules on proprietary information being stored on traveling laptops, and 1 percent of the respondents reported they had, or knew someone who had, a laptop confiscated at the border. The reach of such searches will likely widen as more and more people opt for smartphones, such as Apple's upcoming iPhone, which combine elements of traditional computers with the voice capabilities of a cell phone. The California decision is the first to challenge that trend, and it makes laptops, and even USB memory sticks, very different from every other item brought across the border, including luggage, diaries, prescription drug bottles and sexual toys -- all of which customs and border agents have been allowed to search without cause for years under the "border exception" to the Fourth Amendment. The government says the rationale behind that exception -- that border agents are responsible for protecting the safety of the nation and enforcing copyright and obscenity rules -- logically extends to laptops. "For constitutional purposes nothing distinguishes a computer from other closed containers used to store highly personal items," the Department of Justice argues in its appeal brief. Moreover, requiring government agents to have a reasonable suspicion before searching a laptop will invite smugglers and terrorists to hide contraband and evidence there, the government argues. "If allowed to stand, the district court's decision will seriously undermine the nation's vital interest in protecting its borders by removing the significant deterrent effect of suspicionless searches," reads the filing. Arnold's lawyers, Kevin Lahue and Marilyn Bednarski, disagree, arguing that it's not very difficult for law enforcement agents to come up with "reasonable suspicion." "No ordinary traveler would expect their private files to be searched at the border without any reasonable justification," they told the appeals court. "The government's argument that a traveler can simply avoid exposure by leaving the laptop at home is an oversimplification of its function and role in daily life." Lahue has support from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The two groups submitted a friend-of-the-court brief Tuesday arguing that suspicionless searches of laptops are overly invasive, and that prior to the California ruling, the government had no limits on what it could do when it seizes a laptop and makes a copy of the hard drive. Already travelers have reported customs agents seizing laptops, making copies of the hard drive and returning the computers weeks later. That practice scares the travel execs' association and the EFF, which argue that under the government's reasoning, border authorities could systematically copy all of the information contained on every laptop computer and cell phone that crosses the border, without any court oversight. "A suspicionless unrestricted search of a laptop computer is simply electronic eavesdropping after the fact," the groups told the court. "(It) is distinguishable from the forbidden general searches of Colonial times only by the technologies involved." The case's outcome is far from clear-cut, according to Lahue. "A lot will depend on whether the court decides it's like searching a piece of luggage or like a body-cavity search," Lahue told Wired News. "A diary, even one that is labeled 'my secret sexual fantasies,' has always been fair game." The government's reply brief is due June 26, and the case will likely be argued sometime in the fall. "

I think the excuse the government gives about people hiding contraband or "evidence" (whatever that means) inside laptops is a load of crap. If they win, they could search laptops even if someone was picked out for a "random" check. Plus, I'm sure this scares the hell out of companies who have business travelers with sensitive information on their laptops.

6/20/2007 3:07:31 AM

Full Disk Crypto ftw?

6/20/2007 7:04:25 AM

Quote :

"Moreover, requiring government agents to have a reasonable suspicion before searching a laptop will invite smugglers and terrorists to hide contraband and evidence there, the government argues."

i'm pretty sure you don't have to sneak over the border to get digital "contraband" or "evidence" in a computer. they could just send an email.

6/20/2007 8:53:58 AM

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"Agents...turned up what the government says is child pornography."

This guy might very well have had child pr0n on his computer, but I'm suppose to take their word for it? But more important than that, what made these agents even think that they had ample reason (let alone the right) to search his computer? Barring probable cause (which doesn't seem likely based on the article alone), wouldn't these agents need a warrant to search through his files?

6/20/2007 9:39:58 AM

Well, its kinda like the drug dog sniff. There is no probable cause required to sniff someone, because the dog only tells you if there is illegal drugs on the person. You have no privacy right in anything illegal and are only protected when the search extends to something that you legally can possess.

Theoretically, if the government could have a scanner that would only tell the officer that there is child porn on the computer, it would be legal to scan it, depending on a few other factors. If they got that hit, they would have probable cause to search everything on the computer. I have seen other cases that fit more this pattern than what was posted.

I think this case would potentially be more of a reasonable suspicion standard rather than probable cause. There are 10-15 issues that could make this not require probable cause. The limited case law that I have seen addresses 1 or 2 issues, but does not put it all together in a nice clear decision.

6/20/2007 10:00:59 AM

Well roadblocks are set up all the time just to make sure nobody is driving drunk..so how is this fishing expedition into your computer any different?

People need to get over this thinking that you are secure in your person, houses, papers and effects. The Constitution is too much of a "living, breathing" thing to keep these rights sacred.

6/20/2007 10:42:39 AM

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"Well roadblocks are set up all the time just to make sure nobody is driving drunk..so how is this fishing expedition into your computer any different? "

it's relatively easy to pick the drunk out of 100 people w/o violating any of the innocent peoples rights, not so with searching laptops.

Quote :

"People need to get over this thinking that you are secure in your person, houses, papers and effects."

are you serious? that's a fucked up view.

6/20/2007 10:56:01 AM

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"Moreover, requiring government agents to have a reasonable suspicion before searching a laptop will invite smugglers and terrorists to hide contraband and evidence there, the government argues."

TRAVELLERS ARE HIDING THEIR MOONAJUANA IN THE BITS AND BYTES.

Their inability to separate the physical from the digital world scares me. That's a bullshit excuse if ever I've heard one.

6/20/2007 11:31:31 AM

Quote :

"Agents booted the computer and began opening folders on the desktop, where they found a picture of two naked women, continued searching, then turned up what the government says is child pornography."

There you have it, folks. Pr0n leads to child pr0n. Sounds to me like the agents were just sampling his collection, then stumbled onto something unpleasant.

And why the fuck didn't he have a password or three protecting the laptop? If t3h g0v tried to take my laptop, I'd at least make them crack that shit.

Quote :

"Already travelers have reported customs agents seizing laptops, making copies of the hard drive and returning the computers weeks later."

Aw hell no. They'd have to take it from me by force.

6/20/2007 12:58:43 PM

^i have a hunch that when they're passworded is when they sieze it.

6/20/2007 1:17:00 PM

What about those fingerprint scanner things?

6/20/2007 1:29:07 PM

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"^i have a hunch that when they're passworded is when they sieze it."

Everyone has a password these days. Vista even suggests it.

If this ever happens to me, I'll probably end up in jail.

6/20/2007 1:56:24 PM

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"What about those fingerprint scanner things?"

On my laptop it is an alternative method of logging in. You can either use the fingerprint scanner or you can click your username and type your password. You may be able to use them as the only way of logging in, but Windows authentication pretty much goes out the window when someone has physical access to the disk. At that point you really need to rely on encryption to protect the data.

6/20/2007 2:34:38 PM

oh noes, they will find my goatse pic

6/20/2007 2:41:04 PM

when i traveled abroad last year, the airport security had me turn on my laptop just to show that it was a real computer and not a bomb.

6/21/2007 12:45:31 AM