What Are Your Rights if Border Agents Want to Search Your Phone?

[brooklynite]

The New York Times:

American border agents have the legal authority to conduct searches at the United States border that a police officer on the street wouldn’t. Laws created that allow agents to search bags without a judge’s approval, for purposes of immigration or security compliance, have been extended to digital devices.

But activists say inspecting a digital device is far more intrusive than inspecting a suitcase. They noted that the device can contain not just personal photos and messages, but could also compromise anyone else the owner may have communicated with.

“Before government agents should be able to go rifling through that trove of private data, they should have a very good reason based on individualized suspicion of illegal activity,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. “People’s most private details of their lives will be made bare without justification.”

[Lee-Lee]

1. My company/parent company actually has employees take different computers overseas

You leave your work devices here and get issued specific phones and laptops and only put on what is needed for the trip- and even then keep most of it on the companies secure server and only download when you arrive.

Not so much out of concern for what happens at the US border, but for the fact that your electronics are subject to the same inspection at any countries border and they don't want company proprietary data in the hands of foreign governments or their employees who may be easily bribed.

I think only one time have we had an employee have her data copied at the US border, but in some Eastern European countries it is near 100% or the time, and in some Asian countries very likely.

[klook]

2. Thank you -- very important information.

This piece from Wired, linked within the NY Times article you cite, is also worth a look:
A Guide to Getting Past Customs With Your Digital Privacy Intact.

And EFF has some good info as well: Travel Screening (a few years old, but informative); and Border Security Overreach Continues: DHS Wants Social Media Login Information (2/10/2017).

This is pretty horrifying as well:
https://www.cairflorida.org/newsroom/press-releases/720-cair-fl-files-10-complaints-with-cbp-after-the-agency-targeted-and-questioned-american-muslims-about-religious-and-political-views.html --

1. Are you a devout Muslim?
   
2. Are you Sunni or Shia?
   
3. What school of thought do you follow?
   
4. Which Muslim scholars do you follow?
   
5. What current Muslim scholars do you listen to?
   
6. Do you pray five times a day?
   
7. Why do you have a prayer mat in your luggage?
   
8. Why do you have a Qur'an in your luggage?
   
9. Have you visited Saudi Arabia?[/li

...etc.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

3. People with something to hide will just back up to the cloud and reset to cross

Trump and his band of bumbling idiots are so stupid.

[Lee-Lee]

4. As much as I agree they are bumbling these policies predate him

Most were set under the Obama admin.

You might be amazed how much stuff they do catch. Most noteworthy lots of child porn and/or evidence of sex tourism.

[anarch]

5. my understanding is that nobody has any rights within like 100 miles of the border

or, according to CBP, anywhere else either.