Since publishing Tripso’s first piece about the government’s right to confiscate laptops, PDAs and other electronic devices, Michael Chertoff, secretary of Homeland Security, released an opinion piece alerting US travelers that laptops and PDAs are legitimate targets of searches. If you are traveling internationally, prepare for the possibility that your laptop may be confiscated.
When passengers, including US citizens, enter the United States from abroad and bring an electronic device, including a laptop, it may be seized by the Department of Homeland Security without probable cause for any length of time.
Additionally, any data found in the laptop may be shared with other agencies and private entities for the purpose of language translation and data decryption or other reasons. These policies were dated July 16 by the US Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agencies.
The department feels that it is reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism. Officials also said that the policies have been in place for a while but only recently disclosed because of public interest.
The civil liberties and business travel groups became involved and urged the government to disclose the policies when they noticed an increase in the number of international travelers reporting their cell phones, laptops, and other digital devices had been taken and their contents examined. In at least one case, the devices were taken for months.
The policies state that officers may “detain” laptops “for a reasonable period of time” to “review and analyze information.” This may take place “absent individualized suspicion” (read: no probable cause).
The policies cover “any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,” including hard drives, flash drives, cellphones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover “all papers and other written documentation,” including books, pamphlets and “written materials commonly referred to as ‘pocket trash’ or ‘pocket litter.'”
The policies do say that reasonable measures must be taken to protect business information as well as attorney-client privileges. They don’t say specifically, however, how personal data will be treated.
Once a review is completed and no probable cause exists to keep the information, copies must be destroyed and any data sent to non-DHS entities must be returned to the DHS. The authorities, however, can keep written notes and reports about the materials as long as they feel it is necessary.
In his opinion piece (noted above) published in USA Today, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff states that “the most dangerous contraband is often contained in laptop computers or other electronic devices.” He wrote that searches have uncovered items such as child pornography images as well as violent jihad materials.
What do the Courts have to say? In April, the US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit in San Francisco, upheld “the government’s power to conduct searches of an international traveler’s laptop without suspicion of wrongdoing.”
You can view the complete policy (PDF) by clicking here.
Re-read our earlier column for more background. This laptop information grab that has no timetables for the return of personal computers and PDAs or rules on handling the information gathered together with the secret watch lists and new ID requirements are moving us closer and closer to a police state with no protection for citizens.
