According to New Government Statistics, US border agents searched more electronic devices in three months than ever before.
The data shows that the U.S. Border Protection, the agency tasked with immigration screening at the US border, searched 14,899 international traveller devices between April and June, up 17% at previous record highs recorded in early 2022.
Most of these searches are “basic” when an agent on the US border asks for a password from a traveler’s device and looks into it without using the device.
Citizens cannot refuse entry to the US, but they can seize their devices indefinitely to reject device searches. Visitors may decline, but they will face rejection from the state.
The constitutionality of border search remains a topic of heated debate that embraces judicial opinions divided across the nation, but is an issue that the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to consider.
(via wired)
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