Man Arrested For Refusing To Unlock Phone At Border

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We've already had a few cases like this here in the United States, so it will be interesting to see how this case in Canada plays out.

A Quebec man charged with obstructing border officials by refusing to give up his smartphone password says he will fight the charge. Alain Philippon, 38, of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., refused to divulge his cellphone password to Canada Border Services Agency during a customs search Monday night at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
 
Word to the wise, as far as I know the police CAN force you to use your biometrics to unlock the phone. That falls under say physically unlocking your trunk laws or something like that. However, they can't ask you to supply your password nor are you required to, so old school PINs in theory should keep you safe.

In any case, I support the police having access to your phone but ONLY if they have probable cause. For example, if there's a car accident and its likely distracted driving was the problem and you see the phone ended up on the dashboard after the accident, its reasonable to pull it up and check if a recent call or text was performed just prior to the accident. If you require a court order to get that, then most cops being lazy and wanting to minimize their paperwork and keep their jobs simple simply won't pursue it.

But in the case of a border crossing, I can't think of any reason that they would have probable cause.
 
Word to the wise, as far as I know the police CAN force you to use your biometrics to unlock the phone. That falls under say physically unlocking your trunk laws or something like that. However, they can't ask you to supply your password nor are you required to, so old school PINs in theory should keep you safe.

In any case, I support the police having access to your phone but ONLY if they have probable cause. For example, if there's a car accident and its likely distracted driving was the problem and you see the phone ended up on the dashboard after the accident, its reasonable to pull it up and check if a recent call or text was performed just prior to the accident. If you require a court order to get that, then most cops being lazy and wanting to minimize their paperwork and keep their jobs simple simply won't pursue it.

But in the case of a border crossing, I can't think of any reason that they would have probable cause.

There are a number of possible causes I would think ... they suspect you of lying about the purpose of your trip (you are claiming pleasure instead of business in violation of immigration laws) ... they suspect you of bringing in illegal materials (child porn, etc) ... they suspect you of smuggling or violating import laws ... there might be others

Personally I would prefer they just arrest the suspected people and deal with the searches after they are jailed or give the suspects the right to unlock and if they refuse arrest them at that time ... or the simplest approach would be to refuse them entry across the border
 
Word to the wise, as far as I know the police CAN force you to use your biometrics to unlock the phone. That falls under say physically unlocking your trunk laws or something like that. However, they can't ask you to supply your password nor are you required to, so old school PINs in theory should keep you safe.

They can ask you to unlock, but they can not MAKE you unlock anything in your car, unless they have means/reasons to search or have a warrant, and that warrant has to states what and where to search and what they are searching for.
 
Word to the wise, as far as I know the police CAN force you to use your biometrics to unlock the phone. That falls under say physically unlocking your trunk laws or something like that. However, they can't ask you to supply your password nor are you required to, so old school PINs in theory should keep you safe.

Canadian Law. They didn't even have the 4th amendment starting point. Can't possibly imagine where they are now.
 
Stop talking about amendments and rights and shit. It's Canada and at the border, they gonna do whatever the fuck they want.
 
they suspect you of bringing in illegal materials (child porn, etc) ...
Concerns over data are a joke, as microSDXC cards are now 128GB, much larger than the capacity of the average phone, and being the size of a fingernail would be insanely easy to hide, compared to say a big phone in your pocket.
 
When I read stories like this all that comes to mind is God Bless America and Canada can do whatever they want as EricNS said so I say they can go fuck themselves...
 
It's a new case, and I'm glad it's finally being brought up. I've no doubt that this or another like it will wind up going to the supreme court. We do have some pretty serious privacy laws, but also some pretty different holes in them than in the states... as far as inspecting goods, they're going to have to argue that inspecing the electronic contents of a device constitutes goods, which would open a HUUUGE hole in the existing electronic privacy rights, so I dont see that flying in the long run.

Good on him for contesting these overzealous customs agents.

And yeah.. biometrics are for chumps. Strong password and encryption. Make em work for it.
 
Concerns over data are a joke, as microSDXC cards are now 128GB, much larger than the capacity of the average phone, and being the size of a fingernail would be insanely easy to hide, compared to say a big phone in your pocket.

I didn't suggest it would be effective (although they do catch the occasional dumb criminal that way), I was simply offering one of the reasons that the government uses for the searches ... looking at previous cases in the USA they have used the phone and computer searches to arrest people for child porn (although I think the search is still moving its way through the courts) and to reject peoples entry for invalid visas (a Canadian Actor was banned for 5 years from entering the USA after the phone search indicated he was entering the USA on business instead of pleasure)

This is a Canadian case so the rules are different but in the USA CBP processes I would think that the primary reason they would want to search your phone is to look at emails ... the Canadian actor whose entry was rejected was based on this emails ... if they suspected you of lying about your customs declaration they might be looking for correspondence about what they think you smuggled ... if they suspected you of violating a USA travel embargo or something then they might be checking for itineraries or other confirmation of the violation ... Again, I am not speaking to the right or wrong just offering the possible justifications
 
We need a phone OS that has 2 separate login depending on which password you put in.
1 password for normal usage, and a limited dumbed down login/password for showing to the border guards.
 
There are a number of possible causes I would think ... they suspect you of lying about the purpose of your trip (you are claiming pleasure instead of business in violation of immigration laws) ... they suspect you of bringing in illegal materials (child porn, etc) ... they suspect you of smuggling or violating import laws ... there might be others

Personally I would prefer they just arrest the suspected people and deal with the searches after they are jailed or give the suspects the right to unlock and if they refuse arrest them at that time ... or the simplest approach would be to refuse them entry across the border

Gonna go ahead and ruin your points.

1) Access to your phone isn't going to prove what you did on your trip. So that reason is completely invalid.

2) It is a massive stretch to assume anyone is carrying child porn on their cellphone in a regular border search. Sorry but not really a valid reason nor one that would hold up in any court of law.

3) Smuggling, better chance of finding the said smuggled object. Phone has nothing to do with it. So again completely invalid reason.

Sorry but he was right. There is absolutely no justification for them to need to search your phone at the border unless they are already arresting you for something else entirely. I've crossed the border more than a few times, never been questioned about my phone. I can promise that if they ask the answer is going to be a swift hell no and that with the fact that I have absolutely nothing on my phone. It is simply none of their damn business.
 
Much like border security in all the the five eyes, border security officials in Canada have the right to search any and all property any individual attempts to enter the country with. That includes physical objects and data. That applies right down to the bits.

In no five eyes country do you have the right to deny access to any of these objects or information to border officials. American CBP, for instance, is not governed by the 4th amendment's requirement for a warrant or probable cause.

If you don't want your data checked at a border don't cross a border with it. You have no privacy rights at any border crossing. Encrypt it and stuff it away in a dark corner of the internet, that's far more secure than running around with your sensitive data in your damned phone to begin with.
 
Outside of the arrest, the border procedures/powers are quite similar at both US and Canadian border crossings. They don't need probable cause, or a any reason to search everything you have including all your electronic devices.

They can and likely will ask for passwords if your goods are being searched.

At which point you have a choice to make. Cooperate or don't. But if you don't cooperate you can expect even more grief. If it isn't your home country you might be refused entry.
 
Someone should develop an app that encrypts the device with a password that is only revealed upon arriving at certain destination coordinates, or after a certain window of time. Can't unlock it if you yourself don't know the password...
 
Someone should develop an app that encrypts the device with a password that is only revealed upon arriving at certain destination coordinates, or after a certain window of time. Can't unlock it if you yourself don't know the password...

Not suspicious at all.
 
I don't keep anything that I wouldn't want anyone else to see on any of my portable devices.
 
"Man Arrested For Refusing To Unlock Phone At Border [IN CANADA]"

Thanks for the clickbate!
 
I traveled a few months ago from the US to UK, Belgium, and France. I had a tablet, cellphone, and a laptop in my backpack. Besides having to remove my equipment before boarding flights (which is a TSA travel bag - guess this only works in the US), no one gave me any issues at all.
 
I traveled a few months ago from the US to UK, Belgium, and France. I had a tablet, cellphone, and a laptop in my backpack. Besides having to remove my equipment before boarding flights (which is a TSA travel bag - guess this only works in the US), no one gave me any issues at all.

Only a small percentage get sent to additional search.
 
Gonna go ahead and ruin your points.

1) Access to your phone isn't going to prove what you did on your trip. So that reason is completely invalid.

2) It is a massive stretch to assume anyone is carrying child porn on their cellphone in a regular border search. Sorry but not really a valid reason nor one that would hold up in any court of law.

3) Smuggling, better chance of finding the said smuggled object. Phone has nothing to do with it. So again completely invalid reason.

Sorry but he was right. There is absolutely no justification for them to need to search your phone at the border unless they are already arresting you for something else entirely. I've crossed the border more than a few times, never been questioned about my phone. I can promise that if they ask the answer is going to be a swift hell no and that with the fact that I have absolutely nothing on my phone. It is simply none of their damn business.

Point 1 - At least one person has already received a ban due to a cell phone search ... http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/02/21/the-privacy-price-to-cross-the-border/

Point 2 - At least one person has been arrested after a multi-hour laptop search detected child porn ... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/03/appellate-court-rehear-expansive-border-search-case

Point 3 - No stories here that I am aware of but customs folks catch the casual smuggler all the time (undeclared goods, illegal plants, etc) ... no idea what techniques they use for these detections but now they could search your phone if you triggered one of those searches

They don't need a justification to search a phone or laptop or anything else ... I haven't crossed the border as much as some but I have been back and forth across the Mexican land border about 70-80 times in the last year (probably about average for many) ... I have only entered the USA at International airports about 15 times since I owned a smartphone but I haven't been searched once since I received my Global Entry card

Realistically anyone that does any significant international travel (and isn't paranoid) will have a Global Entry card ... because they fingerprint you and interview you for the card you trigger security much less often (although the penalty for a violation would be severe ... probably a lifetime ban from the program and a possible blacklist that triggers inspections every time you entered the USA)
 
Canadian Law. They didn't even have the 4th amendment starting point. Can't possibly imagine where they are now.

Of course we don't have the 4th amendment. We're not America, and that's fine with us.

So far I think we're doing fine; but there are always exceptions. We have the charter of rights and freedoms, which for all intents and purposes is similar to your bill of rights.
 
We need a phone OS that has 2 separate login depending on which password you put in.
1 password for normal usage, and a limited dumbed down login/password for showing to the border guards.

I smell profit there. Add in a defcon 1 code for good measure.
 
lol, I think I am going to stay away from north america. you guys are quickly turning your countries into police states
 
The point is only to make sure the phone is not a bomb. There is no other concern or consideration involved in this issue. So if you were DRIVING into/out of the US there is no legit reason to involve the phone, laptop, etc.

So I'll once again repeat, someday you people will understand .... by you people I mean the government employee's sworn to uphold it ....


Amendment IV

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.



... EFFECTS



Law enforcement deliberate ignorance to achieve their lunkhead goals is getting old, very old.
 
My phone is encrypted and I'll be damned if I will let law officers access. That's my fucking phone and none of their business.
 
Meanwhile at the mexican border nobody cares just walk over to the us.
 
The point is only to make sure the phone is not a bomb. There is no other concern or consideration involved in this issue. So if you were DRIVING into/out of the US there is no legit reason to involve the phone, laptop, etc.

So I'll once again repeat, someday you people will understand .... by you people I mean the government employee's sworn to uphold it ....


Amendment IV

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.



... EFFECTS



Law enforcement deliberate ignorance to achieve their lunkhead goals is getting old, very old.


Impressive. Canada's limitations on search and seizure were more strict and detailed.

I say were because:

Doesn't apply to CBP or CBSA. That's been upheld by the Supreme Court south of the border and written into law in Canada.

Not that I'm saying it shouldn't because the laws that are supposed to protect us from the unjust application of the law should never be bypassed. None of these rules apply at our borders, because TERRORISM! Be more frightened!

Anti-terror measures are being used to fuck us into oblivion, searching the data on a phone is all about making sure your thoughts and opinions are clean. Are you a good, little citizen or a filthy dissident with opinions that are un-(insert nation here). The only reason I can think of for searching the data on a returning citizen's phone is to police his or her thoughts.
 
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