France’s research minister said a French scientist was denied entry to the US this month after immigration officers at an airport searched his phone and found messages in which he had expressed criticism of the Trump administration.
I wonder how they search it. I doubt they manually read every fucking text message in all apps, so I guess they search for keywords or something.
So, let’s say someone wanted to get someone in trouble, they could write them an email with some “incriminating” white text on white background and have them stopped by the thought police at the border.
It would be funny if they stopped some Canadian Mexican returning from Cancun and found shittalk about Trump on his phone.
Btw. Does anyone have Ted Cruz’s email address?
I have no proof, this is anecdotal, but I suspect they used a forensic analysis tool like Cellebrite, GreyKey, or Magnet Axiom to extract all the device data and search it, which makes it a cakewalk to filter for keywords, images, files, and the like. cops use this shit all the time, as do their terrorist friends all around the world.
Fucking hell. Freedom of speech isn’t a thing anymore and all those shitheads who were crying about simply being called out for saying things are fine with the government punishing people for saying things.
Hey, that’s a good thing in my book, I guess.
Same way as America prospered with talent fleeing a corrupt Europe in the past, now Europe can get that lost talent back from a corrupt America. The more they feel unwelcome and undervalued the more they will flock or stay wherever their talent can flourish and advance our progress as a society.
No complaints from me on that. 🤷♂️
I have a burner but it seems like you need to create social media accounts filled with non political content and keep them updated so they don’t look fake. Anyone know how to automate this?
don’t do this. it’s a waste of your time. if you’re actually scared of the us government, the answer is to stop using social media
The answer is to stop visiting the US.
Not just the US government.
The issue is border control won’t believe you don’t have any social media accounts and might refuse entry.
What if all my accounts are old and haven’t been updated in a decade? That’s kind of outrageous.
Amazing to think that they criticised “freedom of speech” in Europe
Freedom for me but not for thee
This is dark. They aren’t bothering to hide what’s going on anymore.
Usually I respect the honesty more than the subterfuge.
But when it’s Nazi’s. Nope. Wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.
You respect the honesty because it reveals people’s character. And if a person thinks that Taylor Swift is an awful singer, then cool, you can agree or disagree.
But when it’s honesty about contempt for your fellow man? A punch in the face is the only thing that works.
One thing authoritarian systems have in common is a permanent atmosphere of fear. Honesty is highly unwanted there, integrity will get you straight into trouble. Fascist systems are built on hypocrisy and fear.
The USA has no place criticising the actions of other countries. Never has.
Fuck this shitty ass country.
Sounds like a case of “MAGA snowflake syndrome” smh
Actual TDS. In that TDS is anyone who likes that fascist.
Would be helpful if we could see those messages so we can form an opinion.
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Yes, death threats and rape threats are a good reason why a visitor should not be admitted to the United States.
How’d they get into his phone? Face or fingerprint?
Make sure you turn off biometrics before traveling. They can’t force you to disclose a passcode.
EDIT: Actually, if you have to travel to the USA, wipe your phone before you leave.
How’d they get into his phone? Face or fingerprint?
I was looking for this as well. It seems like a rather important piece of info for the article to leave out.
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Years ago they would already ask for social media accounts and email address on US visa forms, it was creepy back them , scary now.
So, what if I as an american, travel to canada. On my re-entry, am i going to get my phone searched for anti-maga stuff?
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They could try. They can compel you to open it with Face ID or fingerprint. If that’s turned off they cannot compel you to disclose your passcode. They can seize your phone. They cannot prevent you from entering the country.
They’re probably only going to do it with some kind of suspicion. But that suspicion could be the border protection officer is having a bad day.
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Thanks. It’s fucking wild the things we have to be concerned about in this upside down timeline.
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They will also ask you for your password for online accounts and refuse entry if you don’t. And as we have all seen recently that does not necessarily mean “next flight home”.
IIRC they can compel you to unlock your phone. Or just deny you entry if you don’t. It’s best to make sure you travel with a ‘clean’ phone and PC, border patrol got ridiculous powers in the patriot act and nobody’s ever rolled any of it back despite decades of abuses.
Since when did travel to the US become worse than to Russia? This is shocking…
or avoid going to america
As a Latin American, the US is the very last county I want to visit on the entire continent. Literally the only thing that I kind of want to see there is the Lego store in NYC.
Better off going to Legoland in Denmark in that case.
I’ve been very purposefully avoiding the US ever since the Patriot Act exactly because it became possible for the TSA to riffle through your electronics (even confiscate them) and do this kind of shit.
Then on top of that festering pit of autocracy which, by the way, nobody reversed in all this time, Trump added the risk of ICE detention and “free trip to El Salvador (to go check a mega prison there)”.
Yep, 12 years of Democrats in charge and none of them did anything to reign in this whole apparatus that could easily be abused by an autocrat. Now Trump has a turnkey surveillance state that can be turned on anyone in the country. All your internet traffic, current location, licence plate readers, face recognition, etc. It was all created to alternately catch terrorists or pedophiles, and now Trump is going to use it against anyone he doesn’t like.
And it’s not like nobody was warned, there was plenty of dissent about the patriot act from experts and the people, but politicians were just like ‘don’t worry, it’ll only be used against terrorists’. Guess what, everyone’s going to be deemed a terrorist now. They’re trying to charge Luigi with terrorism already (and those are state charges in a Democratic state).
Definitely.
What? A scientist who is critical of Trump?? How can that be???
How strange that all the people who think don’t like Trump?
Studies have consistwntly shown that the more education one gets, the more their political view skews left. It explains why colleges, staffed and managed by PhDs, tend to be left-wing. That’s why the Conservative Propaganda Machine has to constantly attack education.
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or one that contradicts him, aka fauci.
Republicans are really mad that reality has a left wing bias
The US has turned in Russia for real. Russians were checking phones at the border when the war started.
Wow, ok. You, guys (Americans), are royally fucked over there. Yet another reason not to visit the US ever.
usa was always “Russia”. The difference is usa have a massive propaganda apparatus to make us think you are the goodies and who are the baddies
Well it was limited to " the browns" before.
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This is completely unnecessary if you travel to a western democracy, like an EU country, Canada, Australia, etc. America is no longer part of that group though, sadly.
I think Europeans, coming from a sane place where border crossings are more of a formality than anything else, don’t expect a plane to the US to be a time machine/teleporter to East Berlin.
This might be normal opsec for a foreign agent, but absolutely ridiculous to expect average people or some French doctor to adhere to.
The reality is this issue would never have happened just three months ago, and the reason it’s happening now is fascism.
The laws haven’t changed. This didn’t start three months ago.
Phone searches: not new. People being rejected at the border because of posts critical of the incoming president, yes, that is very much a new thing.
Would love to see some stories of people rejected at the border for criticism of Biden or Obama if you can find any.
People already worried then. There was no need for the law to grand this power. We don’t need laws if wo rely on people to be just.
immigration officers at an airport searched his phone
There’s no mention in the article if this search was voluntary, or not.
Edit: For the downvoters, please point out where I was wrong; I’d honestly really like to know if it was voluntary or not.
It’s “voluntary” in the sense that either you allow it or you don’t get into the country.
That’s forced. Since when was it a thing?
Since the PATRIOT Act at least, but possibly since Reagan’s Executive Order 12333.
Looks like there is also a court case from 1977 that is related.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception
Every border patrol agent within 100 miles of any US border has this authority and has for a looooong fucking time.
It’s honestly a little shocking this isn’t more well known.
WTF is a voluntary search?
“Attention all flight passengers. This is ICE on the speaker. If you want to be searched, please raise your hand and we will get to you shortly.”
Consent in a situation like this is difficult to establish, to the point of it being pointless. Your comment implies to me that you think if the person said “OK” to a search request then whatever happened next is their own fault.
Consider just the situation where you’re in the immigration line and two uniformed officers walk up to you and say, “please come with us.” If you go with them, is that voluntary? If you say “yes” I just think “voluntary” doesn’t hold much meaning. What happens if you don’t volunteer to go with them? Surely, they say, “come with us now or you’ll be arrested.” And if you don’t volunteer at that point, they’ll physically restrain you and take you away.
Since most people are able to understand the subtext of the situation, they’re able to tell that, “please come with us” actually means “you are required to come with us now. You may either walk of your own accord, or we will take you captive and punish you beyond whatever we initially intended.” So, there’s not any consent happening. Just deciding whether being beaten and dragged away in public would be helpful to you, and in many cases it is not.
You might be confusing US law around unlawful search and seizure with US law around border crossings. While the ACLU’s position is that the 4th amendment trumps CBP, CBP’s position is that it does not and that you cannot stop them.
Consent in a situation like this is difficult to establish, to the point of it being pointless.
Hard disagree.
Did they ask him if they could search and he said yes, or no? Or did they just take his device away from him and did a search without his permission?
Consenting to a search, or have one mandated by a judge’s order, is one of the fundamental pillars of citizen rights and laws in this country.
Was it a legal or illegal search? That’s not a pointless question to ask.
I notice you asked for an explanation and then only sort-of read the first sentence.
I notice you asked for an explanation and then only sort-of read the first sentence.
No, I read the whole thing, fully. I just disagreed with your analogy, thought it was a bad one, too verbose and obfuscating of the subject being talked about. Also it didn’t cover someone searching your belongings with/without your permission, the subject being talked about. Law officials have more legal leeway to detain you than they do to search your belongings without your permission, so your analogy doesn’t work (especially when you throw in beatings into it).
Also, didn’t think your last paragraph was legally accurate, but didn’t want to bother arguing the point, since ‘amendment > law > policy/rule’ is a well-known given. I’m aware of the difference. When I asked my original question, it was to confirm if the border enforcement people were actually honoring the 4th amendment, or not, whatever their thought processes were.
I did appreciate you taking the time to reply (and civilly at that) though, thank you. P.S. I hope the tone of my reply wasn’t too harsh, it wasn’t meant to be rude, just straightforward.
i just downvoted because everyone else was doing it. I actually like your comment
I just upvoted because everyone else wasn’t. I actually don’t like your comment.
what a rebel
that’s just silly. you don’t have to press a button
well its better than the button pressing me
