Newsgroup: it.hobby.viaggi
Titolo: US challenged over laptop seizures, Travellers have their gadgets swiped

US challenged over laptop seizures, Travellers have their gadgets swiped
By Mark Ballard: Thursday, 07 February 2008, 1:35 PM 
RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS are suing the US government today after a raft of
complaints from travellers who had their electronic gizmos seized by
border guards.
US customs officers have been seizing travelers' laptops, MP3 players,
telephones and other electronic devices and searching them for terrorist
literature, child pornography and other criminal evidence.
But the Electronic Frontiers Foundation and Asian Law Caucus will
request in a Californian lawsuit today that the US explain if there is
rhyme or reason to the seizures.
Maria Udy, a British citizen had her laptop taken by a border guard who
labeled her a "security concern" when she was returning home from a
business trip to the US in December 2006, according to the Washington Post
today.
Guards are taking devices and passwords, ripping contents including web
browsing histories, emails and documents and returning laptops over a week
later. Udy told the Post that the US has still not returned her laptop. 
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives has collected an
unspecified number of similar complaints. Business travelers have been
warned not to travel with sensitive corporate or personal information on
their laptops, but to access data online.
The lawsuit draws from 15 cases similar to Udy's. Almost all of those
involved where of Muslim, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. The US
Customs & Border Agency denied racial discrimination.
A year ago, the EFF had made a Freedom of Information request for the
policy behind the US seizure of laptops. It did not receive a reply. Its
lawsuit is also asking for a clarification of what rights the US has to
ask travelers about their political, religious and other views.
Challenged in this way before, the US has conceded that its border guards
should respect the rights to privacy of US citizens. But foreigners were
denied the same right.
However, after much barracking from the EU over its collection of
Passenger Name Record data about travelers, the US agreed to extend
similar rights to EU citizens, by way of a gentleman's agreement
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Questi so' scemi: hanno il dollaro in cacca e una possibilità storica di 
moltiplicare il turismo euroasiatico e anziché allargare le frontiere le 
restringono! E chi l'avrebbe detto che la frontiera USA sarebbe diventata 
come quella sovietica di vent'anni fa, e viceversa?
Sì, va be', le torri... Ma non è che io, solo perché ho avuto i ladri in 
casa, costringo i miei ospiti a spogliarsi e lasciare impronte e scansione 
dell'iride prima di sedersi a tavola!
-- 
PeterAngel ----------------------------------- 
...che voleva fare un salto a Boston per shopping,
ma che adesso ha paura di vedersi sequestrare telefono e fotocamera! 

 Questi so' scemi: 
In effetti è gia da anni che sono scemi. 
-- 
Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de
 - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe