Customs can search the smartphones and laptops of U.S. persons
as they leave the country and return home. This is not a theoretical
concern. According to recent statistics provided by Customs and Border
Protection, searches of cellphones by border agents has exploded,
growing fivefold in just one
year, from fewer than 5,000 in 2015 to nearly 25,000 in 2016. Five-
thousand devices were searched this last February alone, more than in
all of 2015. My colleague, Senator Paul and I intend to close this loophole,
ensuring that U.S. persons crossing the border do not have lesser
digital privacy rights than individuals who are arrested inside the
United States.
Keywords matched
Border
Protection