Federal Court Rules Suspicionless Searches Of Travelers' Phones And Laptops Unconstitutional
Hat tip to DUer Gothmog, who originally posted this in GD:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212678595
Federal Court Rules Suspicionless Searches Of Travelers' Phones And Laptops Unconstitutional
In a major victory for privacy rights, a federal court in Boston today ruled that the government’s suspicionless searches of international travelers’ smartphones and laptops at airports and other U.S. ports of entry violate the Fourth Amendment. The ruling came in a lawsuit, Alasaad v. McAleenan, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and ACLU of Massachusetts, on behalf of 11 travelers whose smartphones and laptops were searched without individualized suspicion at U.S. ports of entry.
“This ruling significantly advances Fourth Amendment protections for the millions of international travelers who enter the United States every year,” said Esha Bhandari, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “By putting an end to the government’s ability to conduct suspicionless fishing expeditions, the court reaffirms that the border is not a lawless place and that we don’t lose our privacy rights when we travel.”
“This is a great day for travelers who now can cross the international border without fear that the government will, in the absence of any suspicion, ransack the extraordinarily sensitive information we all carry in our electronic devices," said Sophia Cope, EFF senior staff attorney.
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-rules-suspicionless-searches-travelers-phones-and-laptops
https://www.eff.org/
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/federal-court-rules-suspicionless-searches-travelers-phones-and-laptops