Privacy watchdogs sue USA over laptop seizures at airports
Privacy organisations are suing the Obama administration over its shocking practice of seizing laptops, mobile phones, and other devices at US borders and copying their contents even when the owner is not suspected of any crime.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers say that digital devices contain such highly personal information that they are protected by the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition they claim, because the data often includes unpublished pictures and information collected by journalists and scholars, they are also protected by freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
US border agents searched digital devices belonging to 6671 travelers between October 2008 and June 2010, according to the ACLU. Almost 45 percent of those searched were US citizens.
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September 7, 2010
Posted in: News
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