EFF: Seventh Circuit Dodges an Opportunity to Protect Travelers from Invasive Border Searches of Electronic Devices

EFF: Seventh Circuit Dodges an Opportunity to Protect Travelers from Invasive Border Searches of Electronic Devices by Saira Hussain & Sophia Cope:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in United States v. Wanjiku missed an opportunity to protect travelers’ privacy rights and check the government’s ability to conduct invasive border searches of electronic devices.

EFF, along with the ACLU, filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California (2014) supports the conclusion that border agents need a warrant supported by probable cause before searching electronic devices because of the unprecedented and significant privacy interests travelers have in their digital data. In Riley, the Supreme Court followed similar reasoning in applying the Fourth Amendment and holding that police must obtain a warrant to search the cell phone of an arrestee.