Tony Dennis:
Inquirer
Monday, November 13, 2006

US CITIZENS face the danger of their smartphones being confiscated ad infinitum according to a report in the New York Times.
This report revealed that laptop computers are currently seized on a completely ad hoc basis from US citizens on re-entry to the US without "probably cause, reasonable suspicion or warrant."

The whole thrust of the article illustrates how members of an industry body, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, have and potentially can have, their laptops taken without even the remotest excuse by US government agencies.

And one female member told the NYT that had she been waiting for at least a year to get her laptop back.

One of the problems is that no-one has yet to legally challenge what the US government can or cannot do with the information it acquires as the result of such confiscations.

In one instance, the victim in question had been found to be harbouring instances of child pornography.

There's a grave danger, however, that US customs officials will soon realise that devices such as wireless PDAs and top end smartphones have the potential to store as much illicit data as a laptop.

So US citizens face the prospect of their mobile phones not making it past baggage check. It's a daunting prospect.