Laptops seizure raises questions
WASHINGTON – Bill Hogan was returning home to the United States from Germany in February when a customs agent at Dulles International Airport pulled him aside. He could re-enter the country, she told him. But his laptop could not.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said he had been chosen for “random inspection of electronic media,” and kept his computer for about two weeks, recalled Hogan, 55, a freelance journalist from Falls Church, Va.
Fortunately, it was a spare computer that had little important information. But Hogan felt violated.
“It’s not an inspection. It’s a seizure,” he said. “What do they do with it? I assume they just copy everything.”
For several years, U.S. officials have been searching and seizing laptops, digital cameras, cell phones and other electronic devices at the border with few publicly released details. Complaints from travelers and privacy advocates have spurred some lawmakers to fight the U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy.
As people store more and more information electronically, the debate hinges on whether searching a laptop is the equivalent of looking in your luggage, or more like a strip search.
“Customs agents must have the ability to conduct even highly intrusive searches when there is reason to suspect criminal or terrorist activity, but suspicionless searches of Americans’ laptops and similar devices go too far,” said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who chairs a subcommittee that examined the searches at a hearing Wednesday. “Congress should not allow this gross violation of privacy.”
Authorities need a search warrant to get at a computer in a person’s home and reasonable suspicion of illegal activity to search a laptop in other places. But the rules change at border crossings.
Courts consistently have ruled that there’s no need for warrants or suspicions when a person is seeking to enter the country – agents can search belongings, including computer gear, for any reason.
Feingold said the testimony gave “little meaningful detail” about the program. He is considering legislation to prohibit such routine searches of electronic devices without reasonable suspicion.
But Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said U.S. officials have to balance individual rights with protecting the nation.
“Terrorists take advantage of this kind of technology,” he said.
Hogan, the freelance journalist, said there was no reason for customs agents to think he was a terrorist. He advised people to take precautions with their laptops when they leave the country.
“I certainly would never take it again,” he said.