Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days. Customs and Border Patrol has not published any rules regarding this practice, and I and others have written a letter to Congress urging it to investigate and regulate this practice.
How often does this happen?
Trying to get real numbers I have found close to impossible and it seems to vary greatly between airports and locations. Some far more strict the others. Washington (IAD), LAX and New York I have heard are some of the highest, What I also have heard in the cases of actually searches, its very rare and only if the person is very suspicious or on a watch list. The most common is to have the computer boot up.
But I have never gotten anything in writing, even after many phone calls and emails..
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