Originally Posted by
TSORon
I’m not saying that it does. What I am saying is that once someone places their bags on the X-Ray belt they know that an X-Ray search is going to be taking place. They know that it may entail a physical search if there is a question about some item in their bag, or if the X-Ray operator cannot see through an item to determine if it is masking something else. That is what constitutes a “reasonable” search on the checkpoint. It may end up going so far as to open seams of a bag if it is determined that there is an unidentified item artfully concealed in the bags seam.
The tricky part here is that the bounds of a legal search specify both what is to be searched and what is to be searched
for. This is true both when a search warrant is issued and for administrative searches. In the case of TSA, there
is an "implied consent", but we have ask what what the bounds of the search being consented to are. Clearly, it's "a search of the passenger's accessable property for objects that are a threat to aviation". So I would indeed expect the possibility that the bag may be opened and objects in it looked closely.
However, there are limits to the search. A magazine is not a threat to aviation. So I would have an expectation that my magazine would not be opened. If somebody did open it and discovered kiddy porn, I would hope that such evidence wouldn't be admissible.
A flash drive (once that is determined to be what it is) is not a threat to aviation. So I would have an expectation that nobody would read the files on it and find that some were copyright violations and cite me for it.
Currency is not a threat to aviation. So I have an expectation that nobody would count my currency and try to figure out my itinerary and/or if I filed any required forms.
I agree that there are subtlies here. For example, it would be reasonable to be requested to turn on a laptop computer and maybe even open a file or two to prove that it's a functioning computer. If my background, a window that I'd previously opened, or a file I opened contained kiddy porn, I would have no expectation of privacy. But if the TSO took the computer and randomly opened files and found some pirated software (or kiddy porn, for that matter), that would be outside the bounds of the search and hence not permitted.