candygirl Posted August 2, 2008 Report Posted August 2, 2008 U.S. border agents given power to seize travellers' laptops, cellphones U.S. authorities now have the power to seize travellers' electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones, and make copies of their contents at an off-site location. CBC News The policy gives border agents at any point of entry into the United States the authority to also take do!@#$%^&*ents, books, pamphlets and hard drives. The items can be seized from anyone crossing the border and may then be copied and shared with other government agencies, according to Department of Homeland Security do!@#$%^&*ents dated July 16. "Officers may detain do!@#$%^&*ents and electronic devices, or copies thereof, for a reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search," the policy says. "The search may take place on-site or at an off-site location." U.S. Senator Russ Feingold told the Washington Post he finds the new policies "alarming" and said he plans to introduce legislation that would make grounds for border searches more rigorous. Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology, said the new policies allow authorities to conduct searches without suspicion of wrongdoing. "They're saying they can rifle through all the information in a traveller's laptop without having a smidgen of evidence that the traveller is breaking the law," he told the Post. If the authorities find there is not probable cause to hold the seized items, copies must be destroyed, according to the policy. The policy does not outline a timeframe in which materials must be returned. "These examinations are part of ... long-standing practice and are essential to uncovering vital law-enforcement information," the policy says, noting examinations help authorities detect possible instances of terrorism, narcotics smuggling, child pornography and violations of copyright and trademark laws. http://technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/abc...border-searches What do you guys think about this?
Samapico Posted August 2, 2008 Report Posted August 2, 2008 I'll go work as a border agent, and copy games and software from these people instead of downloading! !@#$%^&* yeah. That is pretty !@#$%^&* stupid... the next step will be that every computer will be rigged with some trojans that search for stuff and report to the government...
candygirl Posted August 2, 2008 Author Report Posted August 2, 2008 I'll go work as a border agent, and copy games and software from these people instead of downloading! !@#$%^&* yeah. That is pretty !@#$%^&* stupid... the next step will be that every computer will be rigged with some trojans that search for stuff and report to the government... They were thinking about that yrs ago. But it was to be a chip not a trojan.
FMBI Posted August 2, 2008 Report Posted August 2, 2008 Yeah, read about this in the news. As usual, it's to protect us.. such a considerate government. Course, if that requires searching the laptops of US citizens, that's fine by me. ^_^
Aceflyer Posted August 2, 2008 Report Posted August 2, 2008 Sounds alarming. Glad I don't leave/re-enter the US often.
PaRa$iTe Posted August 4, 2008 Report Posted August 4, 2008 Well, this just supports my decision not to travel to the US. Long live hidden isolationism.. they should at least limit the time period for which they can keep the items.
Machu Posted August 4, 2008 Report Posted August 4, 2008 Legalize the execution of all illegal immigrants. Problem solved.
PaRa$iTe Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 I doubt illegal immigrants is what the border agents are looking for, and even if they were, they'd still have to look for them, so it wouldn't really solve the problem (well, yes, there would probably be FEWER illegal immigrants, but I don't know how many of them actually read about the US laws before they try). And anyway, you could just argue that executing any criminal should be fine, since that would solve even more problems. Choosing that path isn't a wise choice.
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