Beware Canadian Border Guards Pawing Through Your Phone and Computer

A bit of Internet buzz in
recent weeks has it that the Canadian government is warning its
citizens not to bring large amounts of cash to the United States
because cops might steal it under the guise of “asset forfeiture.”
It’s not really true, though it ought to be. It is true,
however, that the United States government warns Americans
traveling to Canada that border authorities could well go pawing
through their cell phones and laptops without any cause at all.

The buzz started with a piece by CBC Senior Washington
Correspondent Neil Macdonald
cautioning:

On its official website, the Canadian government informs its
citizens that “there is no limit to the amount of money that you
may legally take into or out of the United States.” Nonetheless, it
adds, banking in the U.S. can be difficult for non-residents, so
Canadians shouldn’t carry large amounts of cash.

That last bit is excellent advice, but for an entirely different
reason than the one Ottawa cites.

There’s a shakedown going on in the U.S., and the perps are in
uniform.

Macdonald never claimed the warning is
related to asset forfeiture (it’s actually because of U.S. Customs
requirements), but uses it as a starting point for a riff on asset
forfeiture, building on the Washington Post‘s
great coverage of that nationwide law enforcement scam.

But the Internet took the ball and ran with it, with sites
and bloggers
announcing that the Canadian government cautions travelers
about uniformed highwaymen south of the border.

Again, the Canadian government should offer that
warning, but it doesn’t.

But the U.S. State Department does
caution travelers about warrantless searches of electronic
equipment for travelers heading north of the border.

Canada has strict laws concerning child pornography, and in
recent years there has been an increase in random checks of
electronic media of travelers entering Canada.

Computers and cell phones are subject to searches without a
warrant at the border and illegal content can result in the seizure
of the computer as well as detention, arrest, and prosecution of
the bearer.

The searches are justified as attempts to intercept child
pornography, but just-because pawing through your stuff by
government officials is intrusive and annoying no matter the
reason. It’s also potentially dangerous, since there’s no way of
knowing what officials will find intriguing while scanning your
hard drive.

Then again, the United States
does the same thing. In the course of a lawsuit over the
practice, the
ACLU noted, “Between October 1, 2008 and June 2, 2010, over
6,500 people—nearly 3,000 of them U.S. citizens—were subjected to a
search of their electronic devices as they crossed U.S. borders.
DHS claims it has the right to conduct these invasive searches
whenever it likes, to whomever it likes, and without having any
individualized suspicion.”

The official policy is here,
and it has been
upheld in court.

Ain’t
travel fun?