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An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

nytimes.com

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Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#11

Post by noonespecial »

enjo wrote: post #5

All-in-all it sounds like everyone was really pretty reasonable. I don't see any losers in this. The TSA recognizes that they had a policy mistake and has reacted accordingly. It sounds like the police and the TSA investigators could have been a bit more...nice. Other than that, good for everyone involved:)

The outcome was indeed good, but it took a heroic act to bring it about.

Jobs like TSA screeners often attract a certain type of person who revels in the chance to exert authority over others. It probably delighted this Bardmass fellow to no end to put this stuck up traveler going on about his "rights" in his place.

How many people were bullied into ceding their rights before Mr. Bierfeldt took his stand? A system that simply waits for TSA employees to overstep their bounds and then corrects them may be better than just letting them set up their own little fiefdoms, but lets make sure to remember that it could be much, much better by simply educating TSA employees about the rights of the passengers and proactively making sure that those rights are protected.

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#12

Post by mcantor »

jcdreads wrote: post #4

An article that combines the TSA, iPhones, and Ron Paul. HN gold! Edit: Geez, people. Lighten up!

Hey dude... I upvoted you because I, too, laughed at the title's inclusion of the iPhone that appeared in all of one single sentence in the entire article, but I just wanted to note; be careful next time about breaking the cardinal rule of karma systems: never bellyache about getting downvoted! ;-)

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#13

Post by numair »

xenophanes wrote: post #10
barrkel wrote: post #6

I read an interesting article some time back that strongly relates to this case, by (I think) a retired policeman, but I can't recall where. Anyway, the gist of his point was that there's a tradeoff between evidence in plain view, and invasive security checking. Police are allowed to use evidence of other wrongdoings while investigating a completely different matter, and switch their investigation priorities, as it w…

But having 5k in cash isn't evidence of wrong doing, in plain sight or not.

Moreover, we should be ENCOURAGING people to carry large amounts of our nearly-worthless currency.

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#14

Post by mmt »

brc wrote: post #9

I recently went through LAX screening. I accidentally left my Leatherman pocket knife in my carry-on bag. It's a stainless steel knife with a 3 inch blade. Of course, I didn't know this until I arrived at my destination and unpacked my bag. The TSA screening completely missed it, even though it wasn't even remotely hidden. I think it is time to take a review of the TSA procedures and start to dissassemble the securit…

it's also completely ineffective.

It's effective at the theater aspect. To ask for more is, arguably, unreasonable.

I strongly suspect the average traveler or voter would be able to judge between what's good security and what isn't. I recall discussions such as arming flight crew immediately becoming political, overshadowing rational discourse.

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#16

Post by joeyo »

barrkel wrote: post #6

I read an interesting article some time back that strongly relates to this case, by (I think) a retired policeman, but I can't recall where. Anyway, the gist of his point was that there's a tradeoff between evidence in plain view, and invasive security checking. Police are allowed to use evidence of other wrongdoings while investigating a completely different matter, and switch their investigation priorities, as it w…

  > For example, a car might be stopped for some minor
  > infraction - a broken taillight perhaps - but if the
  > officer sees (say) drugs in the back seat, they can change
  > their priorities. Evidence in plain view is the general scope.
And that's why drug dealers should never drive hatchbacks!

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#17

Post by drc1912 »

"Mr. Bierfeldt, it turns out, was carrying the money because he was returning home from a regional conference of Campaign for Liberty, a group that supports Ron Paul, the former presidential candidate. "

It totally makes sense to me that it was a Ron Paul evangelist who made this bruhaha. I have known a few in my life and this seems like something I could see most of them doing.

Way to stand up for yourself!

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#18

Post by jsgrahamus »

mmt wrote: post #14
brc wrote: post #9

I recently went through LAX screening. I accidentally left my Leatherman pocket knife in my carry-on bag. It's a stainless steel knife with a 3 inch blade. Of course, I didn't know this until I arrived at my destination and unpacked my bag. The TSA screening completely missed it, even though it wasn't even remotely hidden. I think it is time to take a review of the TSA procedures and start to dissassemble the securit…

it's also completely ineffective. It's effective at the theater aspect. To ask for more is, arguably, unreasonable. I strongly suspect the average traveler or voter would be able to judge between what's good security and what isn't. I recall discussions such as arming flight crew immediately becoming political, overshadowing rational discourse.

I'm not sure that the average traveler/voter can judge what is good security. What seems plain to me is that there is no totally safe place on this planet and that the better alternative to hoping that TSA has caught the bad guys, is to allow everyone the inalienable right to defend themselves. Could there be a downside to this? Yes, but at least they would be responsible for their own defense and would not have been disarmed by their own government.

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#19

Post by jrockway »

oikujhgfvg wrote: post #3

But who will protect us from crochet car cover plots? http://www.sewgirls.com/yarn/US-Customs-Detains-Citizen-Over...

The solution to this problem is to mail your content back to yourself. Customs can search your "papers", but they can't search encrypted packets.

Re: An iPhone,the 4th amendment & TSA (airport screening) policy "change"

#20

Post by dchest »

ciupicri wrote: post #15

There are tons of other phones that can record a conversation, so I don't understand what's the relevance of the iPhone in the HN title.

This is a lesson in branding. If it was, for example, a Motorola phone, the article would say just "a cell phone".
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