Comment on Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It
frongt@lemmy.zip 5 days agoNot really, no. You have the right to not give testimony against yourself, including by not providing evidence that would hurt you, but that doesn’t mean you can actively destroy evidence.
PancakesCantKillMe@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Evidence of what exactly? Was a crime previously committed? Was it the officer’s “instincts” that told them so? This is the fun part of authoritarianism, there may have been zero evidence deleted (we don’t know), but now the act of wiping it creates a crime they can charge someone with. Bake him away, toys!
frongt@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
It’s CBP, probably at the airport, so I don’t think you’d find a court saying they exceeded their authority in seizing the phone for search. They have very broad authority.
It’s not ethical at all, of course, but it’s been perfectly legal for decades, under multiple administrations.
Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 4 days ago
They have broad latitude to initiate searches, but if there isn’t a specific crime they’re going after you for, you’re not destroying evidence. If they’re just fishing to see what you have in there, then there isn’t evidence being destroyed because they have no way to know whether you erased stuff because you were doing crimes or just didn’t want them to see your nudes.
frongt@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
The standard for a search at a port of entry is lower. I don’t know how much it’s been tested in court, but that’s how they’re operating right now.