Fast on the heels of the Chinese government, the Orwellian Department of Homeland Security has officially announced that it is claiming new police powers this week: to seize travelers’ laptops, cell phones, cameras, PDAs, iPods, video tapes, books and even magazines … without any suspicion or probable cause and keep them as long as they like without any specified process for returning them whatsoever.

DHS claims that business data will be protected, and that all data will be destroyed when the review is completed if no probable cause exists to keep the information — but bear in mind that there was no probable cause to start with, so there’s actually no incentive for them to ever declare the review complete and destroy the data.

It’s important to note that these policies apply to anyone entering the country — including citizens and foreigners, tourists and visiting businessmen. If you leave the country, you suspend your rights to privacy and property at the border upon your return along with everyone else. I wonder how we would have reacted if France started seizing laptops, cameras, cell phones and books from every American who entered their country? What about if this had happened in 1984? or 1999, for that matter?

P.S. If you’re an American:

Remember: no matter how much the authoritarian “security” forces would like you to think you live in a different world now than we did 10 years ago — the Constitution and your Civil Rights have not been suspended yet — if you don’t think the government should have the right to take your things, and root through your photos, phone calls and emails whenever they like for no reason whatsoever… you should write your representatives in Washington and let them know that you hold them personally responsible for this ridiculous power-grab by our so-called homeland security department.

My Personal Response

Here’s the letter I sent to my representatives, maybe you’d like to do the same:

I was dismayed to read this morning that the Department of Homeland Security has officially announced that it is claiming new police powers this week: to seize traveler’s laptops, cell phones, cameras, PDAs, iPods, video tapes, books and even magazines … without any suspicion or probable cause …

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Government/US-Agents-Can-Seize-Laptops/

DHS claims that business data will be protected, and that all data will be destroyed when the review is completed if no probable cause exists to keep the information — but bear in mind that there was no probable cause to start with!

I can’t believe that we would do that to ANYONE (never mind that American citizens are protected against such unwarranted search and seizure by the bill of rights). What would we say if it was China seizing laptops? There was just a warning in the news about traveling to China: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/China-Visitors-Encrypt-Your-Data/ but apparently, that goes DOUBLE in the USA — at least in China they’re only snooping on you electronically, not blatantly seizing your laptop and copying off all the data.

There’s no possible justification for a policy like this — no amount of fear-mongering by the administration can be allowed to persuade us to give up our civil liberties in the name of security.

So, anyway, I’m writing you, as my representative in Washington, to ask that you would do whatever is in your power to rein in this government agency run amok, and to protect our bill of rights.

Remind this administration of the words of Ronald Reagan:

You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream-the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. — Ronald Reagan, 1964