2,700 CBP agents have warrantless data access, sparking privacy issues


BLM activists call for a “national day of action” regarding police brutality. Hundreds of thousands of US government agents have unrestricted access to up to ten thousand gadgets confiscated from traveling citizens.


Data is extracted from electronic devices such as cellphones, iPads, and computers confiscated from travelers at airports, seaports, and border crossings.

The leader of Customs and Border Protection informed congressional staff that 2,700 CBP employees can access the huge database without a warrant.

During a summer briefing, officials stated that the data is kept for fifteen years.

During a briefing, which took place in the summer, officials said the massive database can be accessed by 2,700 CBP officers without a warrant

During a briefing, which took place in the summer, officials said the massive database can be accessed by 2,700 CBP officers without a warrant

Many of the devices seized were from persons not suspected of criminal behavior, which has sparked concerns in Congress regarding the government’s use of the information.

Thursday, Senator Ron Wyden exposed the database’s specifics in a letter to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnum.

He criticized the agency for enabling “indiscriminate rummaging through the private records of Americans” and advocated for tougher privacy safeguards.

During a briefing, which took place in the summer, officials said the massive database can be accessed by 2,700 CBP officers without a warrant

During a briefing, which took place in the summer, officials said the massive database can be accessed by 2,700 CBP officers without a warrant

During a summer briefing, authorities stated that 2,700 CBP officers are able to access the huge database without a warrant.

Electronic devices such as cellphones, iPads and laptops taken from those going through airports, seaports and border crossings are being mined for data by the CBP

Electronic devices such as cellphones, iPads and laptops taken from those going through airports, seaports and border crossings are being mined for data by the CBP

Last year, Senators Paul and Wyden sponsored a bill requiring officials to obtain a warrant before inspecting a device.

Currently, the CBP has the right to perform a “basic search,” which entails a cursory examination of the device.

Any individual who refuses to unlock their phone for this procedure will have their device impounded for up to five days.

The CBP has consistently defended the controversial practice, but many believe that examining cell phones is excessive.

Senator Paul and Wyden, pictured,  introduced a bill last year which required bored officials to get a warrant before searching a device

Senator Paul and Wyden, pictured,  introduced a bill last year which required bored officials to get a warrant before searching a device

The CBP asserts that continuing to inspect electronic devices is a low-impact method of investigating potential security issues.

The CBOP asserts that it can determine a person’s “intentions upon admission” to the United States, even if no suspicious information is detected by the devices.

Some legislators and privacy groups say that the searchable database without public oversight may violate the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Increasingly, federal investigators employ technologies that many Americans do not comprehend or approve of.

FBI investigators and Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel have previously applied facial recognition to millions of American driver’s license photographs.

It is believed that they accessed private databases of financial and utility records to determine where they reside and used license plate reader data to determine their current location.

In a statement to the Washington Post, CBP spokesman Lawrence Payne stated that the agency conducts border inspections of electronic devices in compliance with legislative and regulatory powers.

He said that regulations had been implemented to ensure that the searches are conducted “judiciously, responsibly, and in accordance with the public’s confidence.”

The Automated Targeting System database is allegedly used to “further review, analyze, and evaluate information CBP collected from electronic devices related with persons who pose a substantial law enforcement, terrorist, or national security issue.”

Officials will not specify how many phone records of Americans are now in the database, how many searches have been conducted, or how long the practice has been in effect.

The CBP issued a guideline in 2018 instructing officers to keep only material relating to immigration, customs, or “other enforcement matters.”

The only exception is if they have reasonable cause to warrant retaining further phone data.

CBP officials acknowledged in a briefing last summer that the default setting for some searches was to download and preserve contact lists, call logs, and texts.

CBP’s director of field operations, Aaron Bowker, stated that the data is retained in a limited percentage of searches and only when ‘absolutely necessary.’

He further refuted the claim that 2,700 DHS officials have access to the data, stating that roughly 5% of their operational personnel, or 3,000 individuals, have access.

Bowker said that people who have access to the information are trained, audited, and supervised, arguing that the degree of data access is “acceptable” for the size of the undertaking.

According to the CBP, no other government agency has direct access to the data, although they can request the information on a case-by-case basis.

According to data disclosed by the CBP, approximately 37,000 searches of visitors’ electronic devices were undertaken in the year preceding October 2021.

It is unclear how many of these devices have had their contents uploaded for long-term inspection.


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