US citizen charged after GrapheneOS phone wipes during airport search

Post by hn_submit » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:20 AM UTC

godwinson__4-8 wrote: post #121

cameldrv wrote: post #74

I’ve seen a lot of people on the internet over the years say things like “the government can’t make x illegal, it’s just y.” For example, the government can’t make wiping your phone at the border illegal, it’s just punching four numbers into your phone, just like a pin, only a different four numbers, which could just have well been your pin. U.S. law though is highly non-autistic and what you were trying to do is jus…

"U.S. law though is highly non-autistic" hilarious but also another point to emphasize is how truly depressing American courts often are. Take the right to a jury. It sounds noble in theory. But when they say judged by your peers they don't mean your actual peers. It's people who couldn't get out of jury duty. Prosecutors have high success rates. Federal prosecutor success rate is over > 90%. Studies of jury psycholo…

Post by fluidcruft » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:21 AM UTC

grey413 wrote: post #267

fluidcruft wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Destroyed evidence of what?

To quote the article: suspected terrorism activities because of his alleged association with the movement against Cop City Complete horseshit on many levels, but presumably a legally valid investigation.

Post by shevy-java » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:21 AM UTC

schoen wrote: post #431

realusername wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially seizing devices and potentially denying entry for non-citizens. I think they should not have this power, but the agents and courts probably don't care that I think that. That's the reason I never traveled to the US and never will, just having IT security in your CV is enough to make the border…

Note that border searches of electronic devices are extremely rare overall. There were some statistics from CBP implying a base rate lower than 1 in 10,000 (I think lower than 1 in 100,000) border crossings. I do know two people who have experienced them as a result of the government taking a personal interest in them, so it's certainly not impossible. However, it's not a common experience. I've personally experience…

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:23 AM UTC

tsimionescu wrote: post #503

b112 wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this also has the advantage of speed perhaps. I can see, deleting specific apps (and their data) as thing #1, and thing #2 would be certain directories. Of course, the problem is, are icons going to be vanishing off the home screen, when the agent is looking at it? Or will the unlock -> screen coming on, be super slow? Of course the problem there is, many people have an app store installed, and app stores have h…

Note that in the USA and a few other jurisdictions, I believe there is now a recognized possibility for the border agents to ask for access to your social media, so even wiping the phone, or even traveling without a phone, is not entirely safe.

Post by majke » Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:27 AM UTC

jpfromlondon wrote: post #516

schoen wrote: post #383

I co-wrote a border search guide for EFF some years ago. I was very interested in finding clever technical approaches but I later ended up feeling that I hadn't given enough thought to the overall threat model questions (even though the guide did address them, perhaps even somewhat usefully). The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially se…

I don't carry a smartphone, is this likely to be a red flag if I'm stopped?