OPP Newsletter

OffGrid9 Loc: off-grid, down in a canyon, mostly

Finally some sanity. I agree that a cursory inspection of electronic devices at the border should remain legal -- US Customs (now ICE) has always been able to do simple inspections of anything coming in for drugs, guns, bombs or other explosives, overt signs of child pornography, and other illegal items. Thus their agents could remove hubcaps, look into your car's air cleaner, even riffle through books and papers to find any obvious signs of illegal activities. But they have NEVER had the ability to confiscate otherwise innocent looking papers, books, and records for in-depth analysis, not unless they had established legal grounds for such a search. Otherwise they would have had carte blanche to invade the privacy of the personal papers of anyone crossing the border. This is an exact analogy to the in-depth analysis of computer drives, smart phones, and other electronic devices. It's OK to open them, examine them as potential hidden bombs or drug-carriers -- turning them on to ensure that they are, in fact, computers or iphones is fine. But what Napolitano and her N**is have defended is the confiscation and thorough analysis of every file on your laptop or smartphone...that's an invasion of privacy and a breach of your civil rights.