Laptop and Security
Jun 20, 2008 | 1:14 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 10,034
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)
Techbically, the Customs people can. The TSA will check to make sure it won't explode.
You'll be fine.
Originally Posted by KDHawaii
My partner and I will be going to France. We're still not sure if we should bring our laptop to France. On return to U.S., will TSA staff or custom people search my laptop?
You'll be fine.
Jun 20, 2008 | 1:24 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: OHIO - CVG,DAY
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, DL DM MM. National Exec... and my CC qualified for Plat. Status!
Posts: 469
I agree that you will be fine. Laptops are as common in airports as luggage.
Unless something is very unusual, you wont get a second glance.
That being said, always remember to delete your midget and donkey porn before leaving the house.
Happy Travels!
Unless something is very unusual, you wont get a second glance.
That being said, always remember to delete your midget and donkey porn before leaving the house.
Happy Travels!
Jun 25, 2008 | 9:38 am
#5
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 1,439
EFF to testify to Congress re: laptop searches at U.S. borders
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has begun doing this.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation plans to testify at a Congressional hearing on electronic searches at U.S. borders on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
Their press release states:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation plans to testify at a Congressional hearing on electronic searches at U.S. borders on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
Their press release states:
Wednesday Hearing on Laptop Searches and Other Privacy Violations
Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, June 25, at 9 a.m., members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing will hold a public hearing on laptop searches and other privacy violations faced by Americans at the U.S. border.
Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation will appear at Wednesday's hearing to urge more congressional investigation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's border search practices and policies. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that customs and border agents can perform "routine" searches at the border without a warrant or even reasonable suspicion, increasingly Americans are complaining about random and invasive searches of their laptops, cell phones, and other digital devices as they come home from overseas travel. In a typical search, U.S. border officials will turn on the device and then open and review files. If agents see something of interest, they may copy data or confiscate the device -- even if the traveler is not suspected of criminal activity.
"These ongoing baseless searches of electronic devices at America's borders are not 'routine,' they're unreasonable," said Tien. "It's hard to imagine something more invasive than a wholesale copying of private files from a personal computer. We need Congress and the courts to recognize a standard for digital searches and seizures at the border that protects the privacy, property, and free speech rights of Americans in the Information Age."
Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, June 25, at 9 a.m., members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing will hold a public hearing on laptop searches and other privacy violations faced by Americans at the U.S. border.
Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation will appear at Wednesday's hearing to urge more congressional investigation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's border search practices and policies. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that customs and border agents can perform "routine" searches at the border without a warrant or even reasonable suspicion, increasingly Americans are complaining about random and invasive searches of their laptops, cell phones, and other digital devices as they come home from overseas travel. In a typical search, U.S. border officials will turn on the device and then open and review files. If agents see something of interest, they may copy data or confiscate the device -- even if the traveler is not suspected of criminal activity.
"These ongoing baseless searches of electronic devices at America's borders are not 'routine,' they're unreasonable," said Tien. "It's hard to imagine something more invasive than a wholesale copying of private files from a personal computer. We need Congress and the courts to recognize a standard for digital searches and seizures at the border that protects the privacy, property, and free speech rights of Americans in the Information Age."
Jun 25, 2008 | 1:27 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 213
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has begun doing this.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation plans to testify at a Congressional hearing on electronic searches at U.S. borders on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
Their press release states:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation plans to testify at a Congressional hearing on electronic searches at U.S. borders on Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
Their press release states:
That's totally WRONG!!!!! "They may copy data.." what about the copyright software? That's illegal, right???
Jun 25, 2008 | 1:51 pm
#7
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: SNA, LAX
Posts: 425
Not to trivialize the fact that they are doing this at all (which is wrong), but in practice, most people with laptops still breeze through customs without a problem.
Should you bring your laptop? If you think it will be useful to you (or just entertaining, or whatever) then by all means, yes, you should. I'd just take a few basic precautions before you go like dumping your browser cache, imaging your drive, and deleting anything personal, like Quicken files or master-password keeper files.
Should you bring your laptop? If you think it will be useful to you (or just entertaining, or whatever) then by all means, yes, you should. I'd just take a few basic precautions before you go like dumping your browser cache, imaging your drive, and deleting anything personal, like Quicken files or master-password keeper files.