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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

#341

Post by Eridrus »

abandonliberty wrote: post #72
mc32 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see members of congress agreeing to privacy right at the border for citizens --only a very few would support the same for non-citizens, even Dems. There is no political upside to that position and it serves a very small percentage of Americans, indirectly, so, that's not going to fly.

You're mostly right. At some point these experiences may affect tourism, business, and desirable immigration. But it's probably too distant of an effect to have that much political capital.

AI/ML conferences are talking about either avoiding the US, potentially with some livestream for people stuck in the US.

This year's schedule is probably set already, but 2018 may be different.

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

#342

Post by Eridrus »

chopin wrote: post #233
xbmcuser wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world is going through it isolationist phase so yes it is likely other countries will do the same. Though in the future I am seeing a possibility where governments ask for your social media handles and all that data is trawled using an ai which assess your risk profile according to the needs of the government asking the questions. Instead of all your private data getting into the hands of the government or outsid…

This will have a broad chilling effect. You can't deviate from the norm anymore. I would be worried very much if my fate lies in the hands of an AI where there is neither transparency nor recourse.

There is already no recourse in the immigration system.

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

#343

Post by alxndr »

Bartweiss wrote: post #306
fulafel wrote: post #38

Argh, you couldn't invent this kafkaesque stuff: "When he went through secondary inspection at Vancouver airport, US Customs officers didn’t even need to ask for his passwords — they were saved in their own system." "They said, ‘Next time you come through, don’t have a cleared phone,’ and that was it. I wasn’t let through. " -- I know that US/Canada privacy laws might not give people protection in this situations, bu…

The fact that they saved his passwords is pretty ugly. They're free to demand them 100% of the time, so it raises questions of whether they're saving them for some other purpose. And more simply, it means you have to trust border patrol's password management as well as your own. (Or change them all immediately.)

Also makes the border control's system a pretty attractive target for hackers.

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

#344

Post by parasubvert »

The NEXUS trusted traveller program (a similar overlapping program called Global Entry exists for US citizens) has been great for this. It provides both border agencies time to check your background thoroughly and then conduct an interview without the pressure of immediate travel. Border hassles drop significantly (as do security wait times and screening procedures as it enrolled you into TSA preCheck).

Doesn't help the privacy angle, but nothing about international travel has been private for a long time.

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

#345

Post by CaptSpify »

techdragon wrote: post #132
bruceb wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is part of the problem, not the questions but the attitude. I can understand them asking questions, they have a short time to figure out if the traveler might be "up to no good". That is no reason to ask questions in way that attacks a person. Ask all the questions you want just don't be terrorizing jerk about it. Now one instance can be chalked up to a bad apple but over and over again I have heard stories like…

Isn't the point of the giant world wide surveillance apparatus run by the NSA, etc. meant to let them know this sort of thing before they even buy a ticket for a plane trip? I know I'm being purposefully naive in saying this, but why pay for something that's not working?

> but why pay for something that's not working?

Because it's The American Way! We spend so much money on programs that are proven not to work, it's embarrassing.

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

#346

Post by frenchman_in_ny »

Serious question: What would happen if -- at your point of origin -- you asked a friend to set the passcode on your phone, and you would only get the passcode on arrival after clearing border/customs? CBP can ask you to unlock your phone, but without knowing the passcode, what can they (or you) do?

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

#347

Post by kaspiCZ »

frenchman_in_ny wrote: post #346

Serious question: What would happen if -- at your point of origin -- you asked a friend to set the passcode on your phone, and you would only get the passcode on arrival after clearing border/customs? CBP can ask you to unlock your phone, but without knowing the passcode, what can they (or you) do?

They will most likely detain you. And grill you for quite some time.

Then seize your electronics, because "you have no need for devices you cannot unlock" (fictional quote) and most importantly you cannot prove they're safe (forget about them having to prove they're not safe).

And finally, they would most likely deny you entry.

Given that lately I've read hundreds of comments on US Customs here on HN, this is the picture I've painted in my mind.

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

#348

Post by Bartweiss »

alxndr wrote: post #343
Bartweiss wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that they saved his passwords is pretty ugly. They're free to demand them 100% of the time, so it raises questions of whether they're saving them for some other purpose. And more simply, it means you have to trust border patrol's password management as well as your own. (Or change them all immediately.)

Also makes the border control's system a pretty attractive target for hackers.

Exactly. I think a database of identities tied to accounts with passwords would be at least as tempting as the OPM records (though to different people), which is reason enough that it shouldn't exist.

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

#350

Post by mike_o »

caf wrote: post #68
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It shows a hole in our rule of law. There's a case in front of SCOTUS, Hernández vs. Mesa , exploring the Constitutional protection of foreign nationals at the U.S. border [1]. In 2010, an unarmed fifteen-year-old Mexican boy was shot in the head by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The boy was in a culvert jointly patrolled by the U.S. and Mexico, but officially, the agent was in the United States and the boy in Mexico. T…

What I don't understand in the Hernández case is why Mesa apparently hasn't been investigated/charged by the Mexican authorities?

He has. The US refused to extradite him.
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