Posted on 06/28/2008 11:47:40 AM PDT by BGHater
Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Agents searched Hogan's luggage and then popped an unexpected question: Was he carrying any digital media cards or drives in his pockets? "Then they told me that they were impounding my laptop," says Hogan, a freelance investigative reporter whose recent stories have ranged from the origins of the Iraq war to the impact of money in presidential politics.
Shaken by the encounter, Hogan says he left the airport and examined his bags, finding that the agents had also removed and inspected the memory card from his digital camera. "It was fortunate that I didn't use that machine for work or I would have had to call up all my sources and tell them that the government had just seized their information," he said. When customs offered to return the machine nearly two weeks later, Hogan told them to ship it to his lawyer.
The extent of the program to confiscate electronics at customs points is unclear. A hearing Wednesday before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution hopes to learn more about the extent of the program and safeguards to traveler's privacy. Lawsuits have also been filed, challenging how the program selects travelers for inspection. Citing those lawsuits, Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, refuses to say exactly how common the practice is, how many computers, portable storage drives, and BlackBerries have been inspected and confiscated, or what happens to the devices once they are seized. Congressional investigators and plaintiffs involved in lawsuits believe that digital copies?so-called "mirror images" of drives?are sometimes made of materials after they are seized by customs.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
/johnny
Crossing over an international border is a bizarre thing, legally, so you should take extra precautions.
In the “neutral zone” between countries, US law does NOT fully apply. For example, you can be detained, strip searched, held without probable cause, and your person and property can be violated to a considerable degree.
I fully agree that you should never transport unsecured computers or data devices across borders, and that you should use a very high grade of encryption that is of a different type for computer and data access. Importantly, you should *never* use your equipment or data in the customs area, or it can be snatched from you, evading your encryption.
Remember also that whatever you have is subject to the laws of *two* countries, not just one. This is especially important as far as images of restricted locations and persons (pictures of soldiers), public sites that *could* be terrorist targets, such as government buildings, airports, dams, and whatever.
One of the worst things to have pictures of are children, even in the most innocent and legitimate situations. This is a “high scrutiny” area for customs personnel, as well as things that *might* be related to terrorism, drug trafficking, money transfer and smuggling, and unknown animals and plants.
US Customs has an enormous book of prohibited animals and plants, so if you try carrying a native flower back with you, it could cost you hours of detention while its type is determined. Seaweed is one of the worst, and researchers spend a lot of time at the border.
If I ever traveled internationally, customs is welcome to copy all my vacation photos (typically 2-6 Gb) for a week or more trip. They just better not ever use the images for any purpose other than national security research!
Should this tolerated? I can't answer that. Should having to remove my shoes at the airport be tolerated? Same type question, same arguments pro and con. I choose my battles more carefully and with slghtly more even odds and resources.
I expect it will be a very short news item...
Well he'll be off the watch list in six months so the new Administration can amke room for you.
Don’t look for intellectual consistency. If this guy had been an NRA executive with a list of members on his hard-drive, they’d be going batshit over it.
I’m laughing AT you, not WITH you at this point. In the unlikely event you’ve ever been across an international border, it was probably on a military charter.
It's spooky how many FReepers don't understand international borders.
Here's something for all the militia types who've never actually read the document to ponder:
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect ... duties, imposts and excises ... but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ... To regulate commerce with foreign nations"
Agreed. If you read it, you'll see that it is NOT good news for gun owners.
Was this on a domestic or international flight?
I travel for conferences and would be ticked as hell if my flash drive w/my presentation was taken by TSA. I email my presentations as well, but damn.
It has nothing to do with agreeing with an administration. It has everything to do with aiding and abetting those who wish to destroy the nation by using lies and innuendo, which creates reasonable suspicion. Dissent based on truth and facts is not the same as this kind of individual's spew.
Had he been a random selection I'd object. But if it walks like a duck...
I have been over international borders. With written orders and my GCID, and without. But never with a frigging passport.
/johnny
/johnny
At the border, your 4A rights are at their nadir and the government’s interest at its apex. Don’t want your laptop or PDA investigated? Too bad. Don’t leave the US.
I don’t dispute that. I was referring instead to the concept that if someone disagrees with President Bush and has done investigative stories on his administration that he should be regarded as a potential enemy of the state and his documents should be seized and pored over for any hint of dissent...
That selfsame attitude may be used against us someday.
Ed
Sounds like an unlawful search and seizure. Is this what we expect from our government, a total violation of our rights??
International.
On international trips you always have to clear Customs. On Domestic flights, never.
And TSA is not involved in this.
I must have missed the reference to customs. I just came back from Canada, which wasn’t too bad, I’ve gotten worse from the Dutch, but I wasn’t carrying flash drives back in those days.
Actually, you do not have the right to privacy when you cross the border, no matter how much you huff & puff
Just telling you what the laws of this country are
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.