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US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

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Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#331

Everyone proposing clever technical solutions. Burner phones and encrypted cloud data etc... you are solving the wrong problem. Instead of engineering a way for the few people who care deeply to avoid this at great effort, engineer a way for this to not be legal. Write your congressperson, donate time and money to political parties, make privacy at the border for ALL (not just citizens) a priority in every election.

the technical aspect of this issue is a solvable problem. the social and political aspects of it are not. there's no political traction against this stuff. the border patrol types are too stupid to understand simple and innocent explanations, and treating them as equals is a surefire way to incur their wrath. the way to make privacy at the border work for everyone is for everyone to conspire to keep the border patrol…

> the social and political aspects of it are not.

No, they're at least somewhat solveable. It's true that in the long term, those with power will use it to seek more power. But that would seem to imply that the government cannot be peacefully replaced every few years through voting, or that checks and balances cannot keep authoritarianism in check, and that's at least worked for a while. We just need to re-strengthen those limits and develop new rules to account for the new technology.

Temporary cultural issues and a lack of understanding are surmountable problems. But you're correct that this social and political change is a lot more difficult than encryption software.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't the changing part. The problem is that if there are any shared passwords or patterns you have, they are now stored forever in their database. One can't only act after going through, one has to change all their passwords to throwaway passwords before going through the border.

Wait what? Why are you sharing passwords? That is poor password security right there, even before giving your master key to some rando.

Can we please stop pretending to be surprised and shocked that this is a thing people in general do? It wasn't even funny anymore 10 years ago and nowadays is one of the most tired comments possible.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like CBP has access to the same tools NSA would use. If your profile isn't public and your name is common, they have no way to know it's really your profile. I'd expect my bank to not freely share my information with CBP (as should anyone whose bank isn't based in the US). Of course the unsolvable issue is that the agent gets to decide whether you get in or not, instead of following some checklist. (Which me…

If your profile isn't public and your name is common, they have no way to know it's really your profile. I know of at least one startup that's selling software to list who's browsing a website with links to their social media accounts in real time. The idea that the CBP can't work out exactly who you are on the internet from your passport seems highly improbable.

Can you name said startup?

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#334

Everyone proposing clever technical solutions. Burner phones and encrypted cloud data etc... you are solving the wrong problem. Instead of engineering a way for the few people who care deeply to avoid this at great effort, engineer a way for this to not be legal. Write your congressperson, donate time and money to political parties, make privacy at the border for ALL (not just citizens) a priority in every election.

I disagree. Maybe people can influence policy in US, but this will still happen to journalists in China, women in Saudi Arabia, suspected drug users in the Philippines, and tomorrow's persecuted minority in tomorrow's undemocratic regime. Technical self-defense measures are imperfect partial workarounds but the best we have to offer for people in these situations.

Further, why a political solution won't work is right there: this is not an issue most people face or will care about.

Even if you manage to stop customs agents from demanding access, some other branch of government will do it, even if it's outright illegal for them to do so. Technical solutions are the only ones that will make a dent.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#335
post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the main difference (speaking from the biased perspective of a Canadian) is that US border guards seem to want to get angry. Whilst Canadian guards have a "what we're doing is necessary, but we want to be nice" attitude. Unfortunately Canada's awful security policy comes because we need to be "up to US standards", or else we risk huge barriers being put in the middle of our trade relationship due to US parano…

As an American who has made three land crossings in to Canada, I can say that Canadian Border Agents treat Americans in the same way that American Border Agents treat Canadians. My first crossing in to Canada was riding with my girlfriend and her parents, all Canadian citizens. It was maybe 10 PM, crossing from Maine to New Brunswick. The Canadian agent was very friendly to my three companions with Canadian passports…

The experience crossing into Canada seems to vary quite a lot.

The two times I crossed (~5 and 15 years ago) the Canadian border agents were polite and brief. I guess that first one was in the days where US citizens didn't need a passport to travel to Canada.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#336
post #215
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada also requires your password at the border. Recently one guy even faced 1 year in prison for refusing. At least in the US you don't face prison time. New Zealand asks as well.

> Canada also requires your password at the border. Recently one guy even faced 1 year in prison for refusing. That can't be true; at least, there must be a hell of a lot more to it. Why would Canada want to pay provide prison space for a foreign national who's committed such mundane a crime as non-cooperation, and without ill-affect on any Canadian citizens?

>mundane a crime as non-cooperation, and without ill-affect on any Canadian citizens?

They already have laws that criminalise even possession of certain pornographics drawings or stories. Make no mistakes, Canada is not a free country and has no problem with imprisonment for victimless crime.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#337
post #9

There needs to be some reasonable way to get your digital life into an E2E encrypted cloud, wipe your devices, fly into the police state you call home, and get setup again when you land. You can promise at the border that your head doesn't contain anything either. I get very worried about traveling with an object as alien and shiny as a Yubikey. I don't know how I'd explain it to an aneurism in a Kevlar vest without…

> wipe your devices But then you risk: > They said, ‘Next time you come through, don’t have a cleared phone,’

If there is nothing more suspicious than a cleared device, the next step in the privacy arms race is to automate the generation of an innocuous but prolific history for cleared devices and find a way to link that history with decoy accounts, preferably accounts that have existed for a while and that have been created solely for that purpose.

Scripts could be written to populate a system with an inoffensive browser history and file usage that reflects light-moderate casual use, the only issue is making any attempts at spoofing appear congruent, believable and not anachronistic with whatever dummy accounts you present.

It's extreme and absurd, yes, but preferable to have them snooping in on your actual life. I suspect crossing the border in the future will be on the same level of 'invasive' as a personal audit.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#338
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might be forced to in the fall. There's a conference within my industry held in San Fransisco in the fall. There really is no substitute elsewhere within a reasonable timeframe. I plan to have no devices with me on the flight. I'll buy a cheap Android and a burner SIM. Before flying home I'll toss the phone. "Give me liberty or give me death" has been subverted into "Give me security and I'll give you my freedom".

It's all up to you. But I personally chose not to go to US conferences because of the TSA. The risk of being jailed is real: If you chuckle while they ask questions then lose your temper because he's not happy and you lack sleep; If you have a false name on Facebook (Are you lying about your identity to any US company?); If you know the wrong person; If you've watched underage porn (knowing that even with above-age p…

[deleted]

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#339
Being a suspicious undesirable outlaw terrorist used to take a lot of work. Now all it takes is NOT doing social media and NOT storing crap on your phone. Is it that rare? They both seem like good things not to do. All the more so now that petty bureaucrats are so keen to look at it.

Re: US Customs block Canadian man after reading his Scruff profile

#340
post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might be forced to in the fall. There's a conference within my industry held in San Fransisco in the fall. There really is no substitute elsewhere within a reasonable timeframe. I plan to have no devices with me on the flight. I'll buy a cheap Android and a burner SIM. Before flying home I'll toss the phone. "Give me liberty or give me death" has been subverted into "Give me security and I'll give you my freedom".

It's all up to you. But I personally chose not to go to US conferences because of the TSA. The risk of being jailed is real: If you chuckle while they ask questions then lose your temper because he's not happy and you lack sleep; If you have a false name on Facebook (Are you lying about your identity to any US company?); If you know the wrong person; If you've watched underage porn (knowing that even with above-age p…

> Vienna (CH)

Er, are you referring to Vienna (AT)?

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