Favorite EFF, along with ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union, filed a second amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit urging the court to require a warrant for border searches of electronic devices, an argument EFF has been making in the courts and Congress for nearly a decade.…
All posts tagged Border Searches
EFF to Second Circuit: Electronic Device Searches at the Border Require a Warrant
Favorite EFF, along with ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit urging the court to require a warrant for border searches of electronic devices, an argument EFF has been making in the courts and Congress for nearly a decade. The…
Virtual Reality and the 'Virtual Wall'
Favorite When EFF set out to map surveillance technology along the U.S.-Mexico border, we weren’t exactly sure how to do it. We started with public records—procurement documents, environmental assessments, and the like—which allowed us to find the GPS coordinates of scores of towers. During a series of in-person trips, we were able to find even…
Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant
Favorite With United States v. Smith (S.D.N.Y. May 11, 2023), a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances” (although other district courts have wanted to do so). EFF is thrilled about…
EFF and ACLU File Amicus Brief Objecting to Warrantless, Suspicionless Electronic Device Searches at the Border
Favorite In the past couple of decades, EFF has argued that when it comes to suspicionless and warrantless searches at the border, electronic devices like cell phones are not the same as a piece of luggage. Although certain searches at the border are permitted without a warrant, the search of a digital device while crossing…
Here’s How ICE Illegally Obtained Bulk Financial Records from Western Union
Favorite Senator Ron Wyden has released a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Inspector General voicing his concern over a previously-unknown bulk data collection program that was carried out by Homeland Security Investigations(HSI), a unit within DHS’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For more than two years, HSI used administrative subpoenas…
Come Back with a Warrant: Congress Should Pass the Protecting Data at the Border Act
Favorite We do not lose our constitutional rights at the border. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however, believes you do. In fiscal year 2019 alone (before the pandemic curbed international travel), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducted nearly 41,000 electronic device searches without seeking a warrant supported by probable cause of…
Civil Rights and First Amendment Defenders Urge First Circuit to Require a Warrant for Border Device Searches
Favorite Last month, EFF, along with co-counsel ACLU and ACLU of Massachusetts, filed a brief in Alasaad v. Wolf urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to require a warrant for searches of electronic devices at the border. In fiscal year 2019, border officers searched over 40,000 electronic devices, more than an…
EFF to UN Expert on Racial Discrimination: Mass Border Surveillance Hurts Vulnerable Communities
Favorite EFF submitted a letter to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to testify to the negative impacts of mass surveillance on vulnerable communities at the U.S. border. The Special Rapporteur called for submissions on “Race, Borders, and Digital Technologies” that examine the harmful effects…
EFF to Ninth Circuit: Border Searches of Electronic Devices Require a Warrant
Favorite Although the Ninth Circuit issued a strong opinion last year in favor of digital privacy rights at the border, EFF filed an amicus brief [PDF] in a new case urging the court to go a step further. The Ninth Circuit should finally hold that the Fourth Amendment requires a probable cause warrant for border…