[LINK] HALT! Hand over all your data

[George Bray]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to
seize travelers' laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold
then for unspecified periods the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such
seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, the newspaper
said, quoting policies issued on July 16 by two DHS agencies.

Agents are empowered to share the contents of seized computers with other
agencies and private entities for data decryption and other reasons, the
newspaper said.

DHS officials said the policies applied to anyone entering the country,
including U.S. citizens, and were needed to prevent terrorism.

The measures have long been in place but were only disclosed in July, under
pressure from civil liberties and business travel groups acting on reports
that increasing numbers of international travelers had had their laptops,
cellphones and other digital devices removed and examined.

The policies cover hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers,
beepers, and video and audio tapes -- as well as books, pamphlets and other
written materials, the report said.

The policies require federal agents to take measures to protect business
information and attorney-client privileged material. They stipulate that any
copies of the data must be destroyed when a review is completed and no
probable cause exists to keep the information.

<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080801/tc_nm/usa_security_laptops_dc_1>