[Air-L] warrantless laptop searches at US borders

[Richard Forno]

 From what I understand in a recent post on the IP list by Wired's  
Declan McCullagh, this policy also embraces searches for "copyright  
enforcement" -- which opens up a whole new can of worms.  Imagine if  
you have an iPod or loaded iTunes on your laptop.  Do you need to  
prove you've paid for the bulk of your music or movies?  What if you  
rip a few DVDs for the trip?  Do we have to carry the original disc to  
prove we "own" (er, "licensed") the product?  Doesn't that kind of  
defeat the purpose?

Further, as I read things, if you take your laptop, phone, or iPod and  
put it in a sealed First Class envelope, they can't search it without  
probable cause.  So it seems like this policy has a built-in  
circumvention clause of sorts. Brilliant.

Otherwise, I agree 100% with Alex' comments - my recently-rebuilt  
Powerbook is bare-bones, and rather sterile.  Am i being paranoid?  
Perhaps.  Does it mean more work for me when on the road  
internationally? Probably. Here again, I join other security  
professionals in voicing (or practicing) our intolerance of and  
protesting against poorly-conceived and horribly implimented policies  
enacted by the USG (or UK, et..al) in the name of "homeland security"  
that do more to inconvenience the innocent than catch the  
criminal.     As I said back in 2003, in the post-9/11 New Normal  
(tm), we are all presumed guilty until proven guiltier -- often  
without knowing what standards are being applied in making such  
determinations.   In a supposed democratic society like the United  
States that cherishes notions like checks-and-balances and an informed  
citizenry, the social and cultural effects of this recent phenomenon  
(2001-) I presume are clear to all.   (end mini-rant)

See also:  Peter Swire: No, You Can't Search My Laptop
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/laptop_testimony.html

Cheers

- rick
infowarrior.org