| ▲ | realusername 9 hours ago |
| > The big picture problem is that the agents performing the searches have an enormous amount of power in terms of potentially seizing devices and potentially denying entry for non-citizens. I think they should not have this power, but the agents and courts probably don't care that I think that. That's the reason I never traveled to the US and never will, just having IT security in your CV is enough to make the border gamble not worth it |
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| ▲ | schoen 8 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Note that border searches of electronic devices are extremely rare overall. There were some statistics from CBP implying a base rate lower than 1 in 10,000 (I think lower than 1 in 100,000) border crossings. I do know two people who have experienced them as a result of the government taking a personal interest in them, so it's certainly not impossible. However, it's not a common experience. I've personally experienced searches of my suitcases about four times in about 100 U.S. border crossings (as a U.S. citizen, but the people performing or directing those searches generally didn't know my citizenship status), and zero electronic device searches. |
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| ▲ | epolanski 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | I'm European and I know plenty, albeit the minority of those I know that went to the US, so I wonder how reliable are CBP stats. Maybe my anecdotal experience is influenced by me being in IT, but still. | |
| ▲ | shevy-java 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | But why would that be legal? The device is owned by the individual. No judge signed any warrant search for the device. I can do what I want with my device - that is a basic right of property. Imagine if border guards seize money willy-nilly. | | |
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| ▲ | rustyhancock 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| It's also quite surprising that all socials need to be declared. And presumably them AI vetted in time for you to get to the border. |
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| ▲ | schoen 8 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | This part is pretty new. I wonder if my former colleagues have done any FOIA work looking into how travelers' disclosed social media accounts have been reviewed or analyzed! | |
| ▲ | everfrustrated an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | It's reasonable for a country to want to know if you're likely to abuse your visa. Eg your socials might show you are a professional paid speaker at conferences. If you applied for a tourist visa that would be reasonable to flag you and ask you if you have paid gigs on the wrong visa. Europe will also ask the same questions for foreigners. If you're a young woman travelling on your own you can expect questions to challenge if you might be earning money as a nanny on a visitor visa. Checking their phone messages to see if they've been making arrangements to this effect is a very straightforward way to determine intent. Not everything is an evil conspiracy. | |
| ▲ | epolanski 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | You also have to provide every single email account you have used in the last ten years, all of them, forgetting to declare one is an offense. There's no chances I can remember them all, especially as I've been contracting and get a new email every 3-4 months or so. |
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