American citizens: US border agents can search your cellphone!
Greg Krasovsky: U.S. Citizens, Permanent residents, refugees and other foreign visitors, please be aware: When you cross the U.S. border, your electronic devices can be searched and detained without a search warrant!
This includes cell phone, smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, digital cameras, portable storage devices (hard disks, USB flash drives, SD cards and etc.) containing sensitive personal, private, confidential commercial/business/trade/employer/client information and even privileged attorney-client information.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could attempt to collect passwords to your email accounts, Skype & other instant messengers, social media accounts and encrypted devices or storage.
When confronted by authorized federal personnel who want to inspect or seize your electronic devices, please understand your rights so that you can make an informed decision.
Please do not do anything at the border (or within 100 miles of it) that could lead to criminal liability, fines and incarceration, such as
- giving false statements to federal law enforcement,
- resisting arrest, detention or seizure,
- harassing, making threats against and/or assaulting federal law enforcement, and/or
- causing a public disturbance or nuisance.
If you plan to cross the U.S. Border with potentially sensitive, confidential or private information on electronic devices, especially if this information & data belongs to third parties and/or affects their legal rights, please consult with a competent attorney and IT specialist on how to protect your rights and privacy without running afoul of the law.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent resource on this topic: "Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border: Protecting the Data On Your Devices and In the Cloud." See https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017
Please read the rest of "American citizens: US border agents can search your cellphone!" at: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/03/13/american-citizens-us-border-agents-can-search-your-cellphone/21884644/
Also, please keep in mind that many other countries aside from the United States have similar or even more stringent laws, regulations and practices regarding the seizure and seizure of electronic devices or data at their borders.
Before you travel abroad with sensitive, personal (private), commercial or government data and devices, please consult an attorney qualified and licensed in your travel destination's laws!
If your electronic devices, data, including logins and passwords, have been inspected, recorded or seized by U.S. or foreign law enforcement (border, customs, immigration and police) personnel or state security & intelligence agencies, then please contact a competent attorney ASAP so that you can be advised on how to protect your privacy, legal rights and property.
Warning & Disclaimer: The above does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. The reader should consult an attorney in regard to his legal rights and obligations on the topics discussed in this post.
The Law Offices of Gregory Krasovsky:
Website: http://www.krasovskylaw.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/krasovsky911/
Greg Krasovsky: U.S. Citizens, Permanent residents, refugees and other foreign visitors, please be aware: When you cross the U.S. border, your electronic devices can be searched and detained without a search warrant!
This includes cell phone, smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, digital cameras, portable storage devices (hard disks, USB flash drives, SD cards and etc.) containing sensitive personal, private, confidential commercial/business/trade/employer/client information and even privileged attorney-client information.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could attempt to collect passwords to your email accounts, Skype & other instant messengers, social media accounts and encrypted devices or storage.
When confronted by authorized federal personnel who want to inspect or seize your electronic devices, please understand your rights so that you can make an informed decision.
Please do not do anything at the border (or within 100 miles of it) that could lead to criminal liability, fines and incarceration, such as
- giving false statements to federal law enforcement,
- resisting arrest, detention or seizure,
- harassing, making threats against and/or assaulting federal law enforcement, and/or
- causing a public disturbance or nuisance.
If you plan to cross the U.S. Border with potentially sensitive, confidential or private information on electronic devices, especially if this information & data belongs to third parties and/or affects their legal rights, please consult with a competent attorney and IT specialist on how to protect your rights and privacy without running afoul of the law.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent resource on this topic: "Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border: Protecting the Data On Your Devices and In the Cloud." See https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017
Please read the rest of "American citizens: US border agents can search your cellphone!" at: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/03/13/american-citizens-us-border-agents-can-search-your-cellphone/21884644/
Also, please keep in mind that many other countries aside from the United States have similar or even more stringent laws, regulations and practices regarding the seizure and seizure of electronic devices or data at their borders.
Before you travel abroad with sensitive, personal (private), commercial or government data and devices, please consult an attorney qualified and licensed in your travel destination's laws!
If your electronic devices, data, including logins and passwords, have been inspected, recorded or seized by U.S. or foreign law enforcement (border, customs, immigration and police) personnel or state security & intelligence agencies, then please contact a competent attorney ASAP so that you can be advised on how to protect your privacy, legal rights and property.
Warning & Disclaimer: The above does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. The reader should consult an attorney in regard to his legal rights and obligations on the topics discussed in this post.
The Law Offices of Gregory Krasovsky:
Website: http://www.krasovskylaw.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/krasovsky911/
Blogspot: http://krasovsky911.blogspot.com/
