Laptop Searches: Signs of Change?

Just a quick note. This may be a sign of change at DHS. This comes from an internal draft letter regarding how DHS manages privacy issues. Among the issues discussed is searches of digital media by Customs and Border Protection (which is unnamed in the letter):


Border Searches and Seizures of Stored Digital Information. This is currently a highly visible and sensitive issue. While certain DHS components may have legal authority to conduct border searches, there is a significant difference between looking at paper documents and searching through the volume of digital information that can be carried by travelers. The Privacy Office should have a role in reviewing current policies and practices for searches and seizures of digital information and developing guidelines to integrate privacy protections into these processes.

That is exactly the kind of thinking about discretion I like to see. Legal authority to do something does not make it a good idea.

Comments

Anonymous said…
As with many things in life, just because one can doesn't mean one should.
Feb 6, 2009, 10:47:00 PM
Andrew said…
It is an essential problem. Though it will be hard for solving.
http://law-us.blogspot.com/
Feb 11, 2009, 1:55:00 AM
Anonymous said…
There is a solution to keep Trade Secret by using remote access software. Good advice here http://remote-access-software.net/security/reflections-about-cbp-and-remote-access.html
Apr 29, 2009, 4:01:00 AM
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