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> The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially seizing devices and potentially de
by realusername 3mo ago
> The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially seizing devices and potentially denying entry for non-citizens. I think they should not have this power, but the agents and courts probably don't care that I think that.
That's the reason I never traveled to the US and never will, just having IT security in your CV is enough to make the border gamble not worth it
- rustyhancock 3mo agoIt's also quite surprising that all socials need to be declared. And presumably them AI vetted in time for you to get to the border.
- schoen 3mo agoThis part is pretty new. I wonder if my former colleagues have done any FOIA work looking into how travelers' disclosed social media accounts have been reviewed or analyzed!
- epolanski 3mo agoYou also have to provide every single email account you have used in the last ten years, all of them, forgetting to declare one is an offense. There's no chances I can remember them all, especially as I've been contracting and get a new email every 3-4 months or so.
- salad-tycoon 3mo agoOr like me, I use disposable emails via simplelogin (?) and iCloud hide my email. I have hundreds. “Roflz” but I’m a citizen so guess I’m okay?
- everfrustrated 3mo agoIt's reasonable for a country to want to know if you're likely to abuse your visa. Eg your socials might show you are a professional paid speaker at conferences. If you applied for a tourist visa that would be reasonable to flag you and ask you if you have paid gigs on the wrong visa. Europe will also ask the same questions for foreigners. If you're a young woman travelling on your own you can expect questions to challenge if you might be earning money as a nanny on a visitor visa. Checking their phone messages to see if they've been making arrangements to this effect is a very straightforward way to determine intent. Not everything is an evil conspiracy.
- account42 3mo agoThe problem is that giving the capability, initially for "reasonable uses", also makes it available for unreasonable uses. That's the banality of evil - dystopias are built one "reasonable" step at a time. For the conference case much more reasonable would be to make the organizer and anyone profiting from the even liable for having speakers without a proper work permit. You can solve these things sufficiently without reaching for the panopticon. As more of our lives are moved to the digital world its very important that we don't give up rights that we previously had in interactions that weren't assisted by technology.
- schoen 3mo agoNote that border searches of electronic devices are extremely rare overall. There were some statistics from CBP implying a base rate lower than 1 in 10,000 (I think lower than 1 in 100,000) border crossings. I do know two people who have experienced them as a result of the government taking a personal interest in them, so it's certainly not impossible. However, it's not a common experience. I've personally experienced searches of my suitcases about four times in about 100 U.S. border crossings (as a U.S. citizen, but the people performing or directing those searches generally didn't know my citizenship status), and zero electronic device searches.
- shevy-java 3mo agoBut why would that be legal? The device is owned by the individual. No judge signed any warrant search for the device. I can do what I want with my device - that is a basic right of property. Imagine if border guards seize money willy-nilly.
- budsniffer952 3mo agoYou are allowed to refuse access to your device, and they are allowed to refuse entry to the country.
- inigyou 3mo agoMost constitutional rights are suspended within 100 miles of a border or international airport.