Courts Close Loophole Allowing Warrantless Phone Searches at the Border đźš«

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Summary:

  1. New Ruling: Judge Nina Morrison ruled that cellphone searches at the border are “nonroutine” and require probable cause and a warrant, closing a loophole in the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.

  2. Privacy Impact: Morrison likened cellphone searches to mindreading due to their heavy privacy impact, asserting that searching phone data requires more protection than physical searches.

  3. First Amendment Concerns: The ruling also acknowledged the First Amendment implications, highlighting the risk to journalists’ confidential sources from such searches. This decision follows similar rulings in the 4th and 9th Circuits requiring “reasonable suspicion” for cellphone searches at the border.

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