U.S. Agents Allowed to Seize Travelers’ Laptops

U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods. Such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing, Washington Post reports, quoting policies issued recently by two U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies.

Agents are allowed to share the contents of seized computers with other agencies and private entities for data decryption and other reasons. The policies apply to anyone entering the United States, including U.S. citizens, and were needed to prevent terrorism, DHS officials said.

The policies cover hard drives, flash memory drives, cellular phones, audio devices, pagers, beepers, video and audio tapes, books, pamphlets and other written materials, according to the report.

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