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US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

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Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No because if it's standard, they will ask you to disable travel mode and download all the data. You can say no, but you can't refuse and cross the border. It's not a technical problem.

Border forces are not allowed to intentionally access remote data[0]. [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/border-patrol-says-it-s...

They don't have to, they can just say the phone synchronized on its own when set back out of travel mode. They will lie, of pressure you to download the data prior their search.

Again, it's not a technical problem. Abusive people are abusive.

Law enforcers are not good people because of their title, society shape them in who their are and how they behave. Currently, in the US, they are not shaped to be helping citizen.

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A government that doesn't keep good enough control if it's people will soon be overthrown. When you give the people more freedom to protest, organise, mass communicate easily etc, you also have to add equal amounts of monitoring and restrictions to make sure that next movement to overthrow the government can't pick up speed without you catching it.

We wouldn’t want those pesky commies, ahh sorry, that was the 50s and 60s, those darn uppity negroes, ahh sorry again, my bad, that was civil rights era, those blasted … err, commies again? They made a comeback in the 80s it seems. Ahh there it is. We don’t want those crazy islamist terrorists harming our people. We need to protect your freedom … by curtailing it, of course. Sorry, sorry, I’ve just been informed, the…

If you cannot see the difference between civil rights movements attempting to change governing to be more even-handed vs expansionist authoritarian governments or movements attempting to destroy democratic governments altogether, you need serious help (and should at least stop broadcasting your ignorance).

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#153
post #133
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Searching your phone is a humans rights violation? I mean, I get the hyperbole, but I'd say more like a privacy issue. But hey, just add the US to the long list of countries like Canada, UK, Australia, etc, etc, etc. Maybe we can come up with a positive list of countries that won't search your phone at the border?

Nobody is searching your phone on UK border. It’s pretty much unheard of in this part of the world.

https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/15/4524208/uk-border-police-...

Police in the UK have the power to seize mobile devices from any traveler entering the country, and can retain their personal data for as long as they see fit, according to a report from the Telegraph.

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#154
As a thought experiment, what would happen if you wrote your own malicious payload to a burner device and handed that over? What if you warned the border agents that your device would deliver malicious code and they plugged it in anyway?

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#155
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Searching your phone is a humans rights violation? I mean, I get the hyperbole, but I'd say more like a privacy issue. But hey, just add the US to the long list of countries like Canada, UK, Australia, etc, etc, etc. Maybe we can come up with a positive list of countries that won't search your phone at the border?

Privacy is a human right. United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 12: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/56/what-privacy

Right but clearly it’s more complex than “human right” since you and your belonging can be searched at the border for every single country.

Clearly searching your phone is overstepping it, but it’s not like there is some absolute right to privacy when crossing borders.

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#156
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>So, what is the point in doing this if not to target law abiding citizens. It's the old rule known to governments all over the world - there is no such thing as an innocent citizen, there is only a citizen who you haven't investigated enough. Call me cynical but storing ALL of your digital data allows the agencies to basically find something, anything, that will allow them to further blackmail you into complying. E…

"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." Cardinal Richelieu

"...give me six lines..." - Cardinal Richelieu

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#157

Quoted post unavailable.

How is an elected representative a dictator? About half of the US population voted in 2020, something like 100x the proportion of the population who voted to elect representatives at the time of the constitution. By any standard the US is far more democratic than it was then. I do agree that things should be more democratic now though.

No post body was provided.

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#158
post #145
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Right, same as a police officer who asks if they can "look around" or "ask a few questions". ...But in general you'd be a fool to do so, and you also may say "no" This is not only a very naive take, its a dangerous one - people have been killed by law enforcement for doing what you are suggesting. Law Enforcement Officers in the US has what is known as qualified immunity. In practice qualified immunity means as long…

> people have been killed by law enforcement for doing what you are suggesting. Can you cite any examples of this happening? I’m a pretty big policing reform person and follow this stuff closely and can’t think of a single case like this.

He did cite an example: George Floyd. You really ought to read the comment you are replying to more carefully. (And you have to be pretty profoundly ignorant of current events not to already be aware of this.)

Re: US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years

#160

As a thought experiment, what would happen if you wrote your own malicious payload to a burner device and handed that over? What if you warned the border agents that your device would deliver malicious code and they plugged it in anyway?

What do you think would happen to a regular person performing such an act? Would it be like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or a James Bond movie?
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