Congress moves to end seizure of electronics at border crossings

Congress has plenty on its hands these days, what with the wholesale meltdown of worldwide financial markets, but it's good to know that attention is still being paid to at least a few other issues. Now starting to heat up in D.C.: At least one major piece of legislation that would put an end to U.S. Customs' and Homeland Security's right to seize your laptop, phone, camera, and other electronics when you come into the country... even if you're a citizen.

Customs' siezure of laptops and the like have been big news all summer, with travelers finding notebooks full of critical business files and loads of personal information vanished on a whim, sometimes for months at a time (and in some cases forever). Customs currently needs no suspicion of wrongdoing in order to search or seize the electronics. Many of those victimized by these searches have alleged racial profiling as well.

While the number of searched laptops is very small—Customs says in a two-week period only 40 laptops were searched out of 17 million travelers, and not all of those were taken away from those entering the country—it is still troubling enough to have earned the attention of Congress. Enter Senate Bill S. 3612, which was introduced a week ago by Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold. A similar bill was also introduced in the House by Washington's Adam Smith. The goal is to reintroduce traditional legal protections that citizens already in the country have to residents returning to the country across our borders: Standards of probable cause before electronic equipment can be searched and the requirement of warrants for search and seizure. (After 24 hours of holding your gear, for example, a warrant would then be required.)

The legislation is brand new and still not even in committee for discussion yet, so it will likely be months (and possibly a new President and Congress) before we know whether it will move forward. If you're a frequent overseas traveler, I'm sure you'll be hoping for the best for this legislation.

LINK: Arbitrary Seizure of Travelers' Laptops Ending?