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Policy · 1h ago

Fourth Circuit Rules Border Agents Can Manually Search Phones Without Suspicion

By Meridian48 News Desk · Summarised from EFF ·

The Fourth Circuit ruled that border agents can manually search electronic devices without any suspicion, rejecting arguments that all device searches should require a warrant. The court distinguished manual searches from forensic ones, applying a lower standard to the former. EFF and ACLU had argued for a uniform warrant requirement for all border device searches.

Meridian48 take
The ruling creates a troubling loophole: agents can bypass higher standards simply by choosing a manual search, despite the Supreme Court recognizing phones as containing the 'sum of an individual's private life.'
Read the full reporting
The Fourth Circuit Says Border Agents Can Search Your Phone By Hand, No Suspicion Required →
EFF
fourth-amendmentborder-searches
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