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Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

nytimes.com

191–200 of 1001 posts

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#191

What about none citizens? Customs kicks you out or throws you into a camp first. E: but seriously, what happens to non citizens. What happens if you bring a burner/wiped phone? I assume digit forensics can confirm it was pre wiped but what's topping them from alleged you wiped on US soil.

That famous phrase from the constitution, "all men are created equal, except the ones not born in America"

The original you're riffing on is from the Declaration of Independence (a purely rhetorical document), not the Constitution of a decade later.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#192
post #98
post #21

Amendment 4: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Amendment 5: "..nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witn…

I'm just guessing here, but the most problematic word on the 4th amendment to attack from the government's perspective is "unreasonable". It's easy to see how a phone border search could be construed as reasonable, and (without digging into this deeply) I suspect that's where most of the push back on this will be. I suspect the 5th amendment is probably more valuable to the defense here as the password is effectively…

> It's easy to see how a phone border search could be construed as reasonable

I'm curious, is there any case law from the pre digital age regarding people forced to open their briefcase and let the border guard read all their documents at a port of entry?

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#193
post #189

For exactly the border search scenario, I wish smartphones could be imaged and restored as easily as PCs. Imagine booting the phone from a flash drive, making an encrypted image of the phone on said drive, and writing a fresh OS before reaching the border. There's no deception required to protect sensitive data or avoid the seizure of an expensive phone. Consent to unlocking the phone, refuse to unlock the drive. The…

Also, it is just a nice idea if you are prone to losing phones. Backups are good for all kinds of reasons.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#195
I don't agree with all this and this increasingly fascist regime but... this was the most predictable outcome. Consider these two scenarios.

1. You factory reset your phone before entering the US and give it to CBP blank. There's nothing to find;

2. You have a self-destruct PIN like this guy did and give it CBP so it destroys the phone's contents.

Tech people will say that these two things are functionally the same. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the law works. If you factory reset your phone first with the intention of restoring it after entry, that's completely fine (legally). You could've factory reset that for any reason. But as soon as an officer wants to search your phone, now you're engaging in evidence destruction (spoliation). The destruction to the phone's contents was done in response to an unfortunately lawful search.

Even if you don't want to factory reset your phone, you can probably just delete (or even log out) of key apps. They can still get messages but if you're so concerned about that, use WhatsApp or whatever.

None of this should be necessary but we are where we are. But whatever you do, don't use a self-destruct PIN if you don't want to be charged with a felon and likely to be found guilty.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#196
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

This is on the dot. The entirety of their argument can be summed up as “I don’t want to give a shit about my neighbor”. And, “I don’t want to care for the hungry”. Or, “I don’t want to share medical costs with my neighbors”. Basically, “I don’t want to share anything”.

Americans also want to be able to use the roads for free, eat food and drink water that "somebody" has inspected to make sure it won't kill them, and have fire, police, and EMS show up quickly if they have an emergency.

The cognitive dissonance is staggering.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#197

Why American authorities are always attacking their citizens freedom?

[flagged]

It's really just a sign that America has definitively and unequivocally entered it's cultural endgame. Of course American citizens are happy to violate the 'rights' of other Americans; being American in 2026 means absolutely nothing other than being able to tribally pick a side that claims to be the "real Americans" fighting for "what's right". Agents of the state are more than happy to leverage their positions of authority if it means they can grab a small win for their side.

Of course, Snowden gave us definitive proof back in 2013 that 'rights' were being systematically violated for arbitrary purposes. But, no one dares be objective about world events lest they accidentally seed territory to their enemy! "But we can use that for XYZ if we get in!" says the American with glee.

If Americans could be honest with themselves, they would realize national collapse is imminent within a decade. The only path forward is treating those around you with respect such that community is preemptively fostered before it is invariably required for survival.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#198
post #186

U.S. citizens are going to need obtain a burner phone before returning, and load it with the absolute minimum to load boarding passes, etc., perhaps some reading material or a movie to watch on the plane, and be prepared to share full credentials for thing at the border. (I used to do some travel patterns where taking a certain client laptop wasn’t an option. It was an absolute gigantic pain for the type of work I di…

I think it's enough to shut down you phone. Then it needs a pin, and you're entitled to not give that over, I believe. So you should be safe, apart from some kind of rubber-hose cryptanalysis.

If you’re a U.S. citizen: CBP cannot deny you entry to the United States merely because you refuse to unlock the phone. If you’re a non-citizen seeking admission: refusal is much riskier.

The important wrinkle is that CBP’s published policy expressly guarantees that a person being admitted as a U.S. citizen won’t be denied entry solely because CBP couldn’t inspect the device. It doesn’t give lawful permanent resident (green card holders) that same explicit statement. Instead, it says refusal by a “foreign national” can be considered in an admissibility determination.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#199
post #189

For exactly the border search scenario, I wish smartphones could be imaged and restored as easily as PCs. Imagine booting the phone from a flash drive, making an encrypted image of the phone on said drive, and writing a fresh OS before reaching the border. There's no deception required to protect sensitive data or avoid the seizure of an expensive phone. Consent to unlocking the phone, refuse to unlock the drive. The…

It may be fun to fantasize about these things some times, but there is no technical solution to tyranny. Laws are not like code, intent matters. Ultimately if the intent is that the government wants to see your private data, hiding it in any way will be charged - it doesn't matter if you jump through hoops to avoid this specific instance.

Re: Felony charges for citizen deleting phone data at US Border

#200

U.S. citizens are going to need obtain a burner phone before returning, and load it with the absolute minimum to load boarding passes, etc., perhaps some reading material or a movie to watch on the plane, and be prepared to share full credentials for thing at the border. (I used to do some travel patterns where taking a certain client laptop wasn’t an option. It was an absolute gigantic pain for the type of work I di…

leave electronics at home. never take electronics to any airport unless you don't care if everything is read. your only option now.

or have a good enough decoy or encryption system in place. Such as pressing a button to lock or replace key documents but keep the rest intact. So what looks like a sensitive document omits key information but still appears to be legit to observer.

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