I don't approve of CBP's approach here, but being denied entry to the country isn't punishment, even if it might feel like it at the time. And that only applies to non-citizens, where entry is fairly reasonably at the government's discretion. Citizens must be admitted regardless.

Rules at the border tend to be pretty restrictive almost everywhere. You can literally get in trouble for having a sandwich in your bag. I'd wager Hong Kong border control was also empowered to request phone passwords and turn away refusers long before this change.

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fn-mote a day ago | parent [-]

Do you ever travel outside your own country? Do you think you should retain some basic privacy rights while you do that?

It’s not even good for business. Business laptops and phones have trade secrets to conduct regular company activities.

Normalizing the surveillance dystopia we live in ON HN is beyond my understanding.

	▲	gruez a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		>Do you ever travel outside your own country? Do you think you should retain some basic privacy rights while you do that? You already don't. Even in countries with protections against arbitrary search and seizure, those go out the window when you're at the border. "No" isn't a valid response if border agents wants to search your luggage.
	▲	wat10000 a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I travel a fair amount. I understand that my rights at a border are just about none, especially my right to enter the country, aside from the country where I have citizenship. I know that pretty much anywhere I travel, they can search my belongings, search me, and send me home for almost any reason they wish. As I said, I don't agree with it, but it's normal and has been for longer than anyone here has been alive.