> “I asked a question, ‘Why was I chosen?’ And [the CBP agent] wouldn’t tell me,” he says.
He should file a Freedom of Information / Privacy Act request to get the reason they chose him.
A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
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Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#42US citizens can not be prohibited re-entry into the US.
It seems they can seize a device from a US citizen for extended inspection though.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#43You're right about white males. Nothing ever happened to Aaron Hillel Swartz. Or is he a bit too dark for your taste?
Statistically as white person he's much less likely to be harassed than people of other ethnicities. That is the point the parent was trying to make.
where are the statistics?
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#44Their point about how other countries will take the US's stance as a cue is somewhat scary. If you try and cross any border it will be relinquishing access to all accounts. I'm assuming email also comes along with 'social media', since communication is by its definition social. So how do you protect yourself? I think just going with "Don't have any social media" isn't a good answer because the relationship that child…
> So how do you protect yourself? Wipe phone when you pass through border, restore afterwards. If you're really paranoid, if the device leaves your presence it's to be considered physically compromised.
It is bizarre that we're now having to consider the type of preparation you previously would want to consider for places like China.
I'm really not sure if I want to visit the US at all while Trump is in power. Not because I expect the chances of any severe problems are all that huge, but because the growing lack of predictability is just creating sufficient friction.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#45Their point about how other countries will take the US's stance as a cue is somewhat scary. If you try and cross any border it will be relinquishing access to all accounts. I'm assuming email also comes along with 'social media', since communication is by its definition social. So how do you protect yourself? I think just going with "Don't have any social media" isn't a good answer because the relationship that child…
See this -^ ? It's a new pseudonymous account. Unless your social network has some kind of insane policy where they only allow you to have a single identity you can use that kind of feature to compartmentalize your activities. Combine that with a phone that lets you have multiple users where you use one for banal activity which you can then show to Big Brother when he comes knocking. And others for anything important…
That falls apart with the simplest IP tracking. The government has all that data anyway, I see no reason they couldn't run a "background check" and figure out exactly who you are and what you've done.
It's a false sense of security, is it not? It's probably best to assume your opponent isn't completely dumb.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#46Conceivably, it's quite possible he had information which is subject to ITAR regulations, including data about sensors, mirrors. At the very least, he probably had sensor vendor specifications which are trade secrets and often covered under NDAs.
He shouldn't have brought anything ITAR sensitive with him out of the country on his phone. At a previous job, we were explicitly told to get a "travel" laptop which was wiped clean.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#47Their point about how other countries will take the US's stance as a cue is somewhat scary. If you try and cross any border it will be relinquishing access to all accounts. I'm assuming email also comes along with 'social media', since communication is by its definition social. So how do you protect yourself? I think just going with "Don't have any social media" isn't a good answer because the relationship that child…
> So how do you protect yourself? Individually? It's extremely difficult other than "try not to appear suspicious" and bring a dumbphone when crossing borders. The real protection is collective. Stopping the current administration is only the beginning; the Democrats are merely "not as bad" on this kind of issue. Broader anti-racism and anti-racist-media action is needed, because otherwise this kind of arbitary bruta…
Broader anti-racism and anti-racist-media action is needed, because otherwise this kind of arbitrary brutal border policy will win votes.
This is an issue much bigger than race and as soon as we stop compartmentalizing it into that it will be better for us all.
You turn it into another about race thing and people will tune out. You make people realize they are at risk no matter who they are and they might pay attention. That might sound tone deaf but the reality is people first and foremost care about themselves and their in-group before anything else. It's hard not to.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#48> Since the phone was issued by NASA... So it was already government property. I don't see the issue here.
So is it ok for the Fish and Wildlife service (example) to access devices, from, let's say, the WH?
I don't think so
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#49Their point about how other countries will take the US's stance as a cue is somewhat scary. If you try and cross any border it will be relinquishing access to all accounts. I'm assuming email also comes along with 'social media', since communication is by its definition social. So how do you protect yourself? I think just going with "Don't have any social media" isn't a good answer because the relationship that child…
> So how do you protect yourself? Wipe phone when you pass through border, restore afterwards. If you're really paranoid, if the device leaves your presence it's to be considered physically compromised.
How about a lockdown feature that sends the unlock code to a trusted 3rd party? For corporate phones that should work quite nicely, especially if unlocking would require physical connection to the trusted network.
That way you could simply put it into lockdown mode before you enter border checks and not use the phone except for minimal calling features.
Re: A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone
#50Their point about how other countries will take the US's stance as a cue is somewhat scary. If you try and cross any border it will be relinquishing access to all accounts. I'm assuming email also comes along with 'social media', since communication is by its definition social. So how do you protect yourself? I think just going with "Don't have any social media" isn't a good answer because the relationship that child…
How about if we reset and delete everything from the phone before crossing any international borders?