NYT Editorial on laptop Seizures

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Kobrin, Steve [kobrins () wharton upenn edu]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 2:04 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: NYT Editorial on laptop Seizures

I chaired the ACTE panel obliquely referred to in the editorial.  A number of people attending the session had had 
their laptops seized, one for reasons that appeared to involve his politics.  There was general agreement on the panel 
that the effect of the Ninth Circuit Court decision was that a laptop was basically a suitcase and that any sovereign 
state has the right to inspect anything crossing its border.  At least to my mind, that is patently ridiculous.  It was 
also clear that it is impossible to guarantee the security of the data when it is in the Government’s hands and that 
getting it back is no easy matter.  One participant told me that when he finally got it back he would not even think of 
using it for fear of what apps might have been put on it while it was in Federal hands.

Steve




New York Times
July 10, 2008
Editorial
The Government and Your Laptop
The Department of Homeland Security is routinely searching laptops at airports when Americans re-enter the United 
States from abroad. The government then pores over or copies the laptop’s contents — including financial records, 
medical data and e-mail messages. These out-of-control searches trample the privacy rights of Americans, and Congress 
should rein them in.
There have been widespread reports of the government searching — and often seizing — laptops, BlackBerrys, iPhones and 
other portable electronic devices at airports. It is not clear how often these searches occur, and the government will 
not say. The Association of Corporate Travel Executives says that of 100 people who responded to a survey it conducted 
this year, 7 said they had had a laptop or other electronic device seized….
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10thu3.html?ref=opinion




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