Privacy vs. Protection: Warrantless Phone Searches at the Border

Digital Detectives

Since Trump’s executive decisions regarding immigration, U.S. border security has taken steps to reflect the changes in legislation. One of the actions taken was the increased search of travelers’ phones and other electronic devices by border agents. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk to Sophia Cope about the EFF and ACLU challenge against the government’s warrantless searches of cell phones and other devices at the border. They discuss why this is a unacceptable invasion of privacy, the current actions allowed by the Fourth Amendment, and whether you have the right to refuse to unlock your device.

Sophia Cope is a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The non-profit advocacy organization works at the intersection of civil liberties and technology.

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