Laptop searches at border might get restricted.
"Given all the personal details that people store on digital devices, border searches of laptops and other gadgets can give law enforcement officials far more revealing pictures of travelers than suitcase inspections might yield. That has set off alarms among civil liberties groups and travelers' advocates - and now among some members of Congress who hope to impose restrictions on the practice next year. They fear the government has crossed a sacred line by rummaging through electronic contact lists and confidential e-mail messages, trade secrets and proprietary business files, financial and medical records and other deeply private information. "
I suspect this is just another Bush administration policy that Obama will correct. I think this is a place where Negroponte's atoms vs. bits distinction is useful. Countries can protect their borders and I don't have a problem searching for illegal contriband, weapons, or drugs. But reading documents crosses a line and seems counter-productive or at least a huge waste of time and inconvenience. Customs could flip through a book looking for a hollowed out section but they shouldn't be able to read a diary. Particularly without a warrant or even suspicion.
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