Laptops on border create a conundrum
FORT WORTH -- Recent conflicting federal court decisions regarding when authorities can search and seize files on laptop computers of travelers crossing the US border have left business travelers confused and asking questions.
A Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman said procedures haven't changed, pointing out that agents are allowed to search "all persons, baggage, and merchandise" entering the United States."
The issue came to light this year when a panel from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in California refused to overturn the conviction of a man caught with child pornography on his computer while being processed in 2004 at the Canadian border.
But another lower federal court in California ruled in October in another child pornography case that customs agents' powers are too broad and that laptop searches are a serious invasion of privacy requiring "reasonable suspicion."
News of the cases prompted an informal survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, which revealed that almost 90 percent of respondents did not know that laptops can be seized without probable cause.
"What is considered a reasonable search? We don't really know right now," said Susan Gurley, the group's director.
A statement released by customs officials said legitimate business travelers need not fear that authorities will seize laptops unnecessarily.
" We just want to know what the rules and regulations are," Gurley said. "Is it copied? Is it stored? Who has access to it? It's a very simple question."
Lee Tien, senior staff lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for digital liberties, said laptop searches should not be considered routine border searches. Computers contain much more information than could fit in a briefcase, he said.
"The way we live our lives is not compartmentalized. Personal and private stuff gets mixed with business stuff," Tien said. "You should need more suspicion than it takes to search a person's suitcase."
Caleb Tiller, a spokesman for the National Business Travel Association, said that the group has fielded calls from many of its members asking what these decisions mean, but that he hasn't heard of anyone who has had a laptop seized.
