Laptop searches fair game at US immigration borders
September 01 2009 by Rebekah Nahai
Laptops searched at US immigration
The Obama administration has addressed concerns over laptop searches at US immigration borders by rolling out new rules of conduct for immigration officials.
About 1,000 laptop searches were conducted out of the 221 million travellers processed at border controls between October 1, 2008 and August 11, 2009. Many of the searches involved asking travellers to turn on their devices to prove they were in fact personal laptops. 46% of the searches were in-depth and involved officials looking through personal data.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reacted by saying the searches are necessary to stop potential terrorists or other criminals, such as a child pornography offenders.
But privacy advocate groups have petitioned Congress to ban searches of personal electronic devices, citing the violation of privacy and constitutional rights.
The current rules allow officials to search without permission through the personal data of US visa travellers entering and leaving the country. Officials may also detain the device or data, without consent, for further investigation.
The new rules laid out by the Obama administration mandate that US immigration officials must be particularly careful when handling sensitive information, such as medical records or journalist research.
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