TinFoil Hat Alert: Laptops Subject To Search When Entering The Country

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The Dailybreeze is reporting that a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that there is nothing private about your laptop anymore as you enter or exit the country.

The case in question was a search-and-seizure case involving Michael Timothy Arnold, a 44-year old Orange County math teacher who arrived at the LAX customs counter after a three-week trip in the Philippines. His laptop was turned on by two customs officers who clicked around and found a photo of two naked women.

Arnold was held and detained while his computer was searched. The customs officers allegedly found several images of child pornography. The 44 year old was charged with possessing and transporting child pornography, and faces 30 years in federal prison if he is convicted.

During his case the U.S. District Court Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that the evidence found on the laptop was not admissible, finding that electronic storage devices are an extension of our memories and thoughts, and cannot be legally searched unless there is reasonable suspicion.

The feds appealed saying that the law allows searches at borders without having to have reasonable suspicion, for security purposes.

"Arnold has failed to distinguish how the search of his laptop and its electronic contents is logically any different from the suspicionless border searches of travelers' luggage that the Supreme Court and we have allowed," wrote Justice Diarmuid O'Scannlain.

zdnet.com Big Brother Is Watching! image:39339:1::0

Arnold made the argument that his laptop should receive the same privacy as his home but the feds argued that you cannot live in a laptop, so the argument was null and void.

"The appeals court has upheld the authority of customs officials to control what enters the United States," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a statement. "The government needs to have the ability to restrict harmful material from entering the country, whether that be weapons used by terrorists, dangerous narcotics or child pornography."

"I think it will surprise people that their laptops are subject to search without any level of suspicion when they get to a border checkpoint," added Jennifer Chacon, a law professor at the University of California, Davis.

She warns now that anyone carrying laptops while traveling should know that a government agent has the right to search their computers at the border.

"As people become aware of this possibility, companies may be clearer with their employees about when they should carry their laptops across borders, and people may be more cautious," Chacon said.

I could not imagine being stopped and having my entire laptop searched. Everyone keeps extremely private information on their computers including photos of family members and loved ones, financial information and business secrets. This decision feels to me like another way the government is using the threat of terrorism and the guise of national security to invade our privacy. Will this decision change the way you travel?

I would definitely be sure to give my laptop a once-over while traveling across the border if I were you.