‘Reasonable suspicion’ not required at borders 28 APR 2008: A US federal appeals court in California reversed a lower court ruling that “reasonable suspicion” was required to inspect electronic media. The higher court said the government has “inherent sovereign authority” to randomly inspect passengers and their baggage - including the contents of the laptop computers and other electronic devices of international travellers entering the US - even without “reasonable suspicion.”
The lower court had said electronic storage devices act as extensions of the mind and memory and should not be summarily searched. That finding was reversed.
The ruling prompted a warning from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) that corporations and their business travellers should limit the amount of proprietary data on laptop computers and other devices when crossing US borders. It also warned that personal data, including photographs, finances and e-mail, are subject to examination by Customs and Border Protection inspectors.
Business travellers have had their company laptops not only searched but seized. Concerned about such circumstances ACTE participated in the case as a friend of the court, seeking to protect propriety data and intellectual property.
ACTE also expressed concern that the government has issued no guidelines for travellers as to what circumstances might trigger a secondary inspection or seizure of an electronic device. The appeals court did not address those issues.
In a statement, ACTE’s global executive director, Susan Gurley, suggested the issue will not go away but will resurface, either in Congress or in other courts. However, she added, “In a time of heightened international security, it will take a brave Congress to rule that parties may not be subject to suspicionless searches.”
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