An Appeals Court panel has ruled that federal agents can legally search through travelers’ cell phones without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or a warrant when they cross an international border.
A lot of suggestions in here but the real way to avoid this to do an encrypted backup of your entire phone to the cloud, wipe it, then log into whatever service you used to store it and import it after you’re safely in another country. They might keep you for a while because having an empty phone is suspicious, but they won’t get anything.
This was already the legal case. I’m confused what changed. This was okay legally for international travel anyway because borders are not considered protect it by the Constitution. I’m so confused. What’s different?
Never going anywhere near that border.
Turn it off before crossing. They may ask you to power it on, which you may comply with. In my experience, biometrics don’t work after a fresh boot and the device password must be entered before biometric unlocking works.
That prevents them from getting into your phone, but probably prevents you from getting across the border too.
Encrypt all your real devices and use a dummy phone to cross. If you get questioned, give lawyer contact info and say nothing else
Might sound extreme, but unironically everyone should do this
So bits are considered a controlled substance now?
This just reinforces my decision to have a non smart phone instead.
Just disable the biometric unlock features. The password method still requires a warrant.
I’ll never be traveling to the US again. Lots of better places for this Canadian to spend his money.
They can already snatch your phone beat you the fuck up and slam your bloodied face into the face recognition until they’ve got your device unlocked. I mean whatcha gonna do when they’re peeling your fingernaips apart and screaming at you to blurt all your secrets. No shitty amendment gonna protect your fragile meat ass.
They can have the duress pin.
Thats already getting ppl arrested
And then get arrested. Land of freedom baby.
Just create a fake profile with pictures of diseased cocks.
Border security very likely uses israeli tech to download your whole drive. Even if they don’t I assume they would at least hold you for questioning if you did make such a profile
Cellebrite. They don’t even need to look through the phone if you unlock it for them they’ll enable whatever settings they have to to download the whole thing. From there they build out associations based on your contacts, apps, social media, etc. Essentially they do what palantir does but a lot more direct, and skips the whole data brokers part.
Tbh I’m shocked it wasn’t already. Like I thought the border has been a “no rights zone” for as long as I’ve been alive.
it seems like this a re-affirmation of it – guaranteeing that it’ll stay in the books for the rest of our lives
Yah I thought SCOTUS ok’d that within 100 miles of a boarder.
…
Seems not! Just lots of circut courts have affirmed the general idea. This is the first at an appellate court.
and that number goes up significantly if you consider an international airport a “border”
I saw someone also mention “waterways” in another thread as being subject to this. If that means navigable rivers like the Mississippi, etc., then between coasts, land borders, airports, and waterways, it’s probably most of the US.
Just budget for a cheap ass phone for when you cross the border and don’t take your actual device with you. Or if you do take it with you when you cross, make sure that it is off during the entire transit.
make sure that it is off during the entire transit
I’ve never had them insist that I can recall, but I do remember reading, I believe in the TSA docs, that any devices are supposed to be powered on and able to be demonstrated to be working or something to that effect … I guess to make sure it’s not just a phone-shaped bomb or whatever.
Even if they have you powered on, the fact that it’s in the before-first unlock state means that the file-based encryption still holds and it cannot be unlocked with biometrics.
They just ask you tonpiwer it on. Did it for a laptop once.
Makes a little more sense when you consider Israel’s pager bombs.
and when you consider the surveillance state. security from “terrorists” is a great excuse, up there with protecting the children.
Only time I’ve ever had an “electronic” device checked like that was at an airport in Europe about 15 years ago (if memory serves me right, I think it was CDG in France). I had a DSLR with a couple extra lenses and they asked me to turn on the camera and take a picture with each lense attached. They also asked to view through the viewfinder with each.
I held on to my old phone when I last upgraded just for this reason. If I ever need to travel internationally in the next few years, that’s the one that’s coming with me. And as much as I’d like to bring my steam deck for travel entertainment, that’s staying home too.
My personal life is pretty damn boring, but regardless, every time I fly (even domestic) I wipe my phone beforehand and only keep emergency contacts.
Anyway I prefer to suck at my ellbow before visiting the US.
Registration walled. Anyone happen to have the full text?
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