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The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. --The US Constitution
I woke up thinking about 9/11 this morning. On that day, European friends called and emailed to see if I was "okay", never mind that New York all the way across the country from my home. The most absurd and well-meaning caller told me not to turn on my TV and not to leave the house. It was too late, my TV was on but, yes, physically I was okay. Mentally, I was not okay and neither my country nor I have been okay since. More specifically, for travelers, things have degraded into the theater of the absurd. We watch our rights inch away all in the name of "security."
Last week, bloggers were aflame (again - this story first surfaced in April) with the news that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has seen it fit to seize your laptop upon what looks to be a whim.
..federal agents may take a traveler’s laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing.--World Hum
The DHS has also seen fit to declare what I call "The War on Liquids" - limiting your carry on options to three ounce bottles that add up to one quart, total, and liberating many a passenger from their bottled water (and my favored airplane treat, Odwalla juice). In the meantime they've confiscated pies, sandwiches, containers of yogurt, baby formula and almost empty bottles of toothpaste and sunscreen - the last two are from personal experiences.
Okay, all right. I'll hand over my last 1.5 ounces of Sensodyne and yes, it's a drag to have to give up my good UVA/UVB suncreen, okay, okay, okay. I ask why, nicely, because I think it is important for the TSA to understand the extreme absurdity of seeing sunscreen as a threat on an interisland hop in Hawaii, but then, I will hand it over. A couple of ounces of sunscreen is not worth missing the flight. I will run breathlessly through the airport to make a connection and then, hold the plane up further while the screener Xrays my shoes, again asking why but quickly and very politely.
But I will hand over my laptop when they pry it from my democracy loving patriotic hands after showing me a warrant. And while that is happening, my first phone call will not be to the airlines to rebook my flight - at my own expense because the airlines isn't the cause for the delay - or my Congressional representatives, who have failed me time and time again; it will be to the ACLU.
The web is abuzz with ways to respond to to this act of creeping fascim. Upload your stuff to a web server somewhere - but anyone who's tried to upload a high res photo from an Internet cafe in, say, Bangkok, knows that connection speed can be less than reliable. Store your data on a USB or flash card elsewhere - but if you're asked for additional data, you'll be expected to hand it over. Encrypt your data and "hide" it - but again, if you're asked about encrypted data, you'll be expected to provide the password to crack it. The solutions are all bad, impractical, and may not work.
Here are three personal scenarios:
- I work as a travel writer and photographer. If the TSA takes a hankering to my data and decides to keep my laptop and digital media while they explore my data, they are blocking my ability to complete my work.
- I work on not yet released technology products and I travel a lot. It makes sense encrypt that information to secure it, in case my laptop is stolen. Showing that information to others violates the terms of my contract, but encrypting the data makes it "suspicious."
- My husband works in avionics - aircraft navigation and communication technology - and he is not a US citizen. If the screeners decide they don't like that fact that he has aircraft operation manuals on his laptop, he can be denied entrance into the country.
Your PDA and your iPod are also subject to warrantless search
