[IP] Re: Suspicion not required for border laptop seizures

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

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From: Steven M. Bellovin [smb@cs.columbia.edu]
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 5:34 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   Suspicion not required for border laptop seizures

The wording of the policy bothers me even more than the policy itself.
For one thing, while the discussion has been in terms of "they can do
this when you enter the country", the policy applies to "information
possessed by individuals who are encountered by CBP at the border,
functional equivalent of the border, or extended border."  Does that
apply to outgoing laptops?  The document says speaks of "evidence
of embargo violations or other import or export control laws."  Export?

I'm also unclear on what the "functional equivalent of the border, or
extended border" are.  Given the policies about checking for
undocumented aliens on I-5 north of San Diego, does this mean that CBP
can look at any data within San Diego?  What are their limits?


                --Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb



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