August 28th, 2009

Gov't tightens oversight of laptop border searches

Associated Press

Marcia Hofmann, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a ditigal civil rights advocacy group, said in an interview the new rules are an improvement. But they don't go far enough, she said.

She said travelers should be told if information is copied from their devices. The new directive states that federal agents must tell travelers if they are looking at their property. But if officials copy the hard drive during this search, the traveler will not know.

"I don't think that's the way to go," Hofmann said.

Related Issues: FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government, Transparency, Travel Screening

Related Cases: FOIA: Border Searches

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