DHS holds firm on laptop inspections at border

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not backing down when it comes to inspecting laptop computers, iPods, PDAs and other electronic devices at the border. While issuing some guidance to clarify its policy, DHS will continue to search your digital devices and examine the data they hold without suspicion of wrongdoing.

This policy has been upheld by the courts and castigated by privacy groups and a business traveler trade association. And despite last Thursday's DHS publishing of standards for this practice, the agency continues to leave a lot of discretion to DHS agents when it comes to conducting searches.

The new guidance says that the owner of a device should be present when its contents are examined. That sounds very reasonable, but there are exceptions that could essentially make this meaningless.

Under the policy, a device may be examined without the owner present if there are "national security, law enforcement, or other operational considerations that make it inappropriate to permit the individual to remain present."

DHS also said it will seek to return the electronic devices to the owner as soon as possible, but only when appropriate, and in some cases after the agent has been given the opportunity to copy all of the device's data. In some cases, however, one might expect the government to hold the device for days or weeks, maybe longer.

For more on DHS laptop inspections:
- check out this ars technica article