[Infowarrior] - EFF: Congress Must Investigate Electronic Searches at U.S. Borders

[Richard Forno]

May 1st, 2008
Congress Must Investigate Electronic Searches at U.S. Borders
Broad Coalition Urges Hearings on Intrusive Search and Seizure of Electronic
Devices

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a broad
coalition, including civil rights groups, professional associations and
technologists, called on Congress today to hold oversight hearings on the
Department of Homeland Security's search and seizure of electronic devices
at American borders.

The press has widely reported disturbing stories about U.S. citizens subject
to intrusive searches of their laptops and cell phones. But a recent court
decision found that customs officials can search travelers' computers at the
border without suspicion or cause. In a letter sent to the House and Senate
Homeland Security and Judiciary committees today, the coalition urges
lawmakers to consider passing legislation to prevent abusive search
practices by border agents and to protect all Americans from suspicionless
digital border inspections.

"Our computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices hold a vast amount
of personal information like financial data, health histories, and personal
emails and letters," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "In a free
country, the government cannot have unlimited power to read, seize, and
store this information without any oversight."

So far, the Department of Homeland Security has refused to release its
policies and procedures for conducting these intrusive searches. EFF and the
Asian Law Caucus have filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security
to obtain the information through the Freedom of Information Act.

"Your privacy could be at risk even if you don't travel yourself. Your
financial institution, your insurer, and other enterprises hold extensive
personal data about you and your family," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee
Tien. "If agents of those groups travel internationally, your information
could be exposed to officials at the border or potentially copied and stored
in government databases. Americans should know how and why electronic data
is seized and kept by the government, and who is able to access it at the
border and in the years afterwards."

In addition to EFF, the coalition signing today's letter includes more than
40 organizations and individuals, including the Association for Corporate
Travel Executives, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Rutherford Institute, and
prominent technologists such as Bruce Schneier and Whitfield Diffie.

For the full letter to Congress:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/01/border-search-open-letter

For more on EFF's suit on border searches:
http://www.eff.org/cases/foia-litigation-border-searches

Contacts:

Marcia Hofmann
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
marcia at eff.org

Lee Tien
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
tien at eff.org