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Laptops fair game to airport searches; No evidence of wrongdoing necessary
Topic Started: Apr 22 2008, 04:49 AM (207 Views)
Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=b...LAPTOP-SEARCHES

Quote:
 
A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled today that travelers entering the United States at borders or airports don't have a right to expect their laptop computers won't be searched.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said customs agents can search the contents of computers of people entering the country even if the agents have no suspicion of wrongdoing.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Customs agents have never required suspicion of wrongdoing to search whomever or whatever they like entering the country. I don't see why the contents of a computer should be exempt.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Aqua Letifer
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JBryan
Apr 22 2008, 04:58 AM
Customs agents have never required suspicion of wrongdoing to search whomever or whatever they like entering the country. I don't see why the contents of a computer should be exempt.

Well presumably there's got to be a line somewhere. Can customs agents look at your bank statements, tax information or medical records? That sort of stuff could very easily be on someone's laptop.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
Aqua Letifer
Apr 22 2008, 08:00 AM
JBryan
Apr 22 2008, 04:58 AM
Customs agents have never required suspicion of wrongdoing to search whomever or whatever they like entering the country. I don't see why the contents of a computer should be exempt.

Well presumably there's got to be a line somewhere. Can customs agents look at your bank statements, tax information or medical records? That sort of stuff could very easily be on someone's laptop.

If you bring it in in hard copy, sure they can.

I'm with JB here.

Although they have to be looking at it for a legitimate (Customs-related) purpose. Checking for evidence of a crime committed in the U.S., for example tax evasion, would seem out of bounds.

That's true for physical evidence, too.
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
They can look at them if you are carrying paper copies.

To put it bluntly you can be strip searched by customs if they so choose.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Aqua Letifer
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JBryan
Apr 22 2008, 05:10 AM
They can look at them if you are carrying paper copies.

To put it bluntly you can be strip searched by customs if they so choose.

What dicks.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
When I went to live in London for a year, they stopped me at the U.K. border ... and sent me into the back for a chest x-ray for tuberculosis. If anything had popped on the x-ray, they'd have denied me entry.

Strip search indeed.
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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Aqua Letifer
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QuirtEvans
Apr 22 2008, 05:14 AM
When I went to live in London for a year, they stopped me at the U.K. border ... and sent me into the back for a chest x-ray for tuberculosis. If anything had popped on the x-ray, they'd have denied me entry.

Strip search indeed.

Did anything about you indicate that you might have had tb?
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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The 89th Key
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By search laptops - do they mean actually search your files, or just the physical laptop?

When coming back to the USA from Italy through Frankfurt, Germany, the agents searched my carry on and had to do a special scan of my portable DVD player to make sure nothing was physically hidden in it.
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smithodude
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Junior Carp
QuirtEvans
Apr 22 2008, 05:14 AM
When I went to live in London for a year, they stopped me at the U.K. border ... and sent me into the back for a chest x-ray for tuberculosis. If anything had popped on the x-ray, they'd have denied me entry.

Strip search indeed.

We like to keep our little island free of nasty victorian diseases. This is the 21st century you know!
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
QuirtEvans
Apr 22 2008, 09:14 AM
When I went to live in London for a year, they stopped me at the U.K. border ... and sent me into the back for a chest x-ray for tuberculosis. If anything had popped on the x-ray, they'd have denied me entry.

Strip search indeed.

I'm glad my call got through, although I suspect they may have mis-heard my suggestion. I didn't say 'X-ray', I actually said 'X-rated'.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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DivaDeb
HOLY CARP!!!
Aqua Letifer
Apr 22 2008, 08:11 AM
JBryan
Apr 22 2008, 05:10 AM
They can look at them if you are carrying paper copies.

To put it bluntly you can be strip searched by customs if they so choose.

What dicks.

John D'oh
Apr 22 2008, 12:56 PM
I'm glad my call got through, although I suspect they may have mis-heard my suggestion. I didn't say 'X-ray', I actually said 'X-rated'.



searching dicks qualify
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