Proposed Bill to Limit DHS Electronic Searches

Last week members of the senate proposed a bill that, if passed, would see the Department of Homeland Security require reasonable suspicion before confiscating your laptop or other device capable of storing information.

At the beginning of August the Department of Homeland Security disclosed border search polices, which stated border officials could confiscate any device capable of storing information (including hard drives, flash drives, your cellphone, MP3 player, Kindle, pager, and any books or documents you happen to have lying around) for “a reasonable amount of time.”

Aside from the fact they can take your precious electronics to a far off place for an unspecified amount of time, more people had a problem with the fact that they can do so without any suspicion of wrongdoing. Homeland Security officials also had permission to share your data with other federal agencies or private entities for language translation, data decryption or, our personal favorite, “other reasons.”

The polices currently in place apply to both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens, however if passed, the Travelers Privacy Protection Act would see "electronic searches" of U.S. on merely the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or national origin disallowed and officials would require probable cause and a warrant before seizing your device. The Act also includes restrictions on the disclosure and handling of any information obtained from the confiscated device.

Described as, “a bill to protect citizens and legal residents of the United States from unreasonable searches and seizures of electronic equipment at the border, and for other purposes,” it seems non-U.S. citizens entering the country will still be subjected to the same policies as before.

The Travelers Privacy Protection Act was introduced by Senator Russell Feingold and is co-sponsored in the senate by Daniel Akaka and Ron Wyden.