Laptops May Be Seized on Entry to U.S.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that authorities can search and/or seize your laptop for any reason they like. Refusal or resisting only gets you a free trip to the baton testing room.

If you can't let a day go by without accessing your personal data and files, you'd better think twice about crossing the border back into the U.S. with your computer. That's because digital devices such as a laptop computer can be seized at the border without a warrant and sent to a secondary site for forensic inspection.

That ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week is the second in less than a year that allows the U.S. government to conduct offsite searches of digital devices seized at the border without a warrant, Network World reported.

This could have big implications for business travelers, in particular, who are increasingly mobile and frequently carry laptops and other digital devices containing sensitive personal and company information across our borders. If your data reveals traces of criminality or illegal kinkiness when examined, your troubles will go way beyond temporary data denial.