US Customs stores duplicates of travelers' phone and laptop contents -- including medical records ...

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https://www.businessinsider.com/us-customs-duplicates-phone-and-laptop-contents-of-travelers-wapo-2022-9

US Customs stores duplicates of travelers' phone and laptop contents — including medical records, photos, and calendar appointments — without much oversight, report says

Taiyler Simone Mitchell 15 hours ago

• US Customs preserves data from phones, laptops, and tablets seized from international travelers.

• The data is held for up to 15 years and can be viewed by thousands of CBP employees.

• Some opponents of the practice, like Sen. Ron Wyden, believe it to be a violation of privacy.

Thousands of international travelers' electronic data is quietly stored in a US Customs and Border Protection database, viewable by thousands of its workers, for up to 15 years, The Washington Post reported.

[...]

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1. 2,700 CBP officers can access the data without a warrant

according to the Washington Post article.

"U.S. government officials are adding data from as many as 10,000 electronic devices each year to a massive database they’ve compiled from cellphones, iPads and computers seized from travelers at the country’s airports, seaports and border crossings, leaders of Customs and Border Protection told congressional staff in a briefing this summer." What could possibly go wrong?

More information:

• CBP Compiles Massive Amounts of Travelers’ Data through Border Seizures - Electronic Privacy Information Center:
  https://epic.org/cbp-compiles-massive-amounts-of-travelers-data-through-border-seizures/


• Automated Targeting System (ATS) - Electronic Frontier Foundation: https://www.eff.org/cases/ats


• Wyden Reveals New Details About U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s ‘Egregious Violations’ of Americans’ Rights During Warrantless Electronic Device Searches - Sen. Wyden: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-reveals-new-details-about-us-customs-and-border-protections-egregious-violations-of-americans-rights-during-warrantless-electronic-device-searches


• Border Agents Are Grabbing Data From Americans' Phones Without Warrants and Storing It for 15 Years - Gizmodo: https://gizmodo.com/border-patrol-surveillance-cell-data-no-warrants-1849540504

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2. Wow. Thank you for the information. nt